Cone 6 Reduction Rocks!

I don't think I've ever been as happy with a kiln load of pots than I am today. I fired my third cone 6 glaze load yesterday and couldn't be more pleased after unloading it a short while ago.


Even with the handles of the sole large basket slumping into the pot. I had attached the top handle at a funky angle and during the firing, it slumped down and on top of the other handle. The look like noodles. Right now, it's hard not to see the flaw, but I'm starting to see it as a happy accident.

I tested a couple of Ceramics Monthly's cone 6 glazes with mixed results, and Brenda brought a few test glazes with her. She is bolder than I am. She'll pour a test glaze all over a pot, while I refuse until I've seen a test tile. And while there are a couple of glazes I'm going to add to my palette, I'm giving up on one that had shown me so much promise in John Britt's class. It's not just that I cannot get the same results, it's that the results I am getting with this particular glaze are uninspiring at best.

I am most thrilled with my new baskets. I had virtually no cracking, and the glazes I chose are really complimenting the forms. I've been struggling with how best to approach my surfaces, but that's a topic for another blog post.

So tonight I go to bed delighted and can wake up with a clear sense of where I am going. I can't ask for anything more.