I think I'm Getting the Hang of This

Here is the after picture of my second cone 10 firing. Many of the baskets on top are glazed with Lansmen Fake Ash and a blue variation there of. I also used Rob's Green which looks pretty nice on my baskets. I had a bit undesirable running on the Fake Ash as well as a few blisters here and there. Nothing too terrible though.

I am especially excited about the Lustre Shino I used on several pieces. Last time, it was dull and so uninteresting that I could have cried. I do love Shinos. This time, the pots are lustre-y and yummy, and I am so pleased. The downside is that I only glazed a few pots with it since it was such a let-down last fall. There's always next time!

I'm taking photos today and will try to work on my website more.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by Jay leaving for work extra early at 5:00am at which time I started firing the cone 10. I planned a special dinner of Jay's favorite dry-rubbed turkey breast and fresh blackberry cobbler.

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to fire this kiln. It's so frustrating. I follow the directions in the Bailey manual, and the initial climb is too fast. I can even out the temperature top to bottom, and reduction starts smoothly, but at a certain point, the kiln stalls and my attempts at keeping the rise and the reduction appear to be floundering. Jay has some theories as far as how much fuel I need to get the kiln to temperature. I am trying to be open minded, but am I forced to pit efficiency against quality. Will the results be favorable firing at a higher gas setting for a shorter period of time versus lower gas over a longer period?

Green flames up the chimney!

This firing took nearly 14 hours, not including the overnight candling. I was aiming for Val Cushing's method of firing only with the damper after body reduction. He recommends 8 hours minimum from cone 08 to cone 9. On the other hand, John Britt's book suggests the same temperature range can be covered in 4-5 hours. Previously I have had trouble keeping the climb steady while retaining a reduction atmosphere. Although Jay thinks the firing took too long, I think I have confidence in *most* of what I did.

Caffeine has been my friend today. Time to offset that with a couple of beers so I can sleep tonight. I'll be able to post kiln results early next week.

Cone 10 ready for Liftoff

I must be streamlining my glazing because I am a day ahead of schedule. That said, I'm not sure why I never have my cone packs made ahead of time. Mr Coffee to the rescue.

I'll candle tonight and then start firing around 4am. Jay has to be in Marshall by 5am, so lucky me I can get an early start. I'm going to change up my firing a little to get more reduction this time. Might try Val Cushing's method of using only the damper after starting reduction. It's worth a try. Most of my glazes look good in moderate reduction, but I've got a Shino that is not living up to its potential.