These are some of the new ones--- that just came out of the gas kiln.... a pitcher, bird feeder and a jar. I'm so happy! Wonderful glazes--- (spotter shino base with blue/green celadon applied with an atomizer and a bit of wood ash sprinkled on top. Will share more pics of the other pieces soon. These just came out this week. Yet a few weeks ago, I received an invite to witness and help out a bit at Corinne Guseman and Hal Dedmond's place in their wood firing. It was so much fun!
When I arrived, the groundhog kiln was almost loaded. Still, three of my teabowls made it in. Turned out that one of them ended up breaking, yet these two pictured made it all the way through! Notice one of the kiln packs on the left.
Kiln firing began at 4 am on Saturday. I woke up a bit later, yet watched it all throughout the rest of the 12 hour firing. What a process! Here's the kiln opening early in the firing as hte glaze can still be seen on the pots. Wood was put in every so often--- to help the kiln temp rise gradually-- about 200 degrees an hour at one point.
Here's a full pic of the kiln--- and some of the workers and onlookers. This was taken early in the day. Later on in the day, the fire could be seen at the top of the chimney-- coming through and up.
Kiln- with door sealed. The two holes on the sides of it are for air drafts. It took one person to open and close the door and another one or two people to stoke it each time it was opened, which was every couple of minutes or so.
A closer look at the groundhog kiln. A few pieces of pottery and good luck charms are on top of the kiln...
By this time, the pile of wood was getting bigger and bigger right at the door where it was placed. As the kiln got hotter, the pile of ash also got bigger in time.
I took a break from witnessing all of it and took a few pictures of my teabowls near some daffodils. Beautiful grounds of this wood kiln and Corinne and hal are so generous!
Temp of the kiln got hotter and hotter--- I forget what the final temp was... Notice the wood piling up on the small window on the right... sometimes small pieces of wood was added into the smaller window to help balance the temp too throughout the kiln.
Got a picture near it (and it was taken quickly too- it was so hot!) just after the firing--- when the final temp was reached. It was too hot to be dressed like that too. Throughout the earlier part of the day, I had pants and a sweatshirt on too, which was must needed with the high temp of the kiln.
Towards the end, we could see farther into the kiln--- some of the pots in the back. Was careful to wear sunglasses, so my eyes weren't hurt.
This is what it looked like in the middle of the firing....
Flipped through this book throughout the day. Need to purchase this one! So much in it. All in all, a simply wonderful experience! Next, I'll share the two teabowls I put into the kiln. :)
These are some of the new ones--- that just came out of the gas kiln.... a pitcher, bird feeder and a jar. I'm so happy! Wonderful glazes--- (spotter shino base with blue/green celadon applied with an atomizer and a bit of wood ash sprinkled on top. Will share more pics of the other pieces soon. These just came out this week. Yet a few weeks ago, I received an invite to witness and help out a bit at Corinne Guseman and Hal Dedmond's place in their wood firing. It was so much fun! 
When I arrived, the groundhog kiln was almost loaded. Still, three of my teabowls made it in. Turned out that one of them ended up breaking, yet these two pictured made it all the way through! Notice one of the kiln packs on the left. 
Kiln firing began at 4 am on Saturday. I woke up a bit later, yet watched it all throughout the rest of the 12 hour firing. What a process! Here's the kiln opening early in the firing as hte glaze can still be seen on the pots. Wood was put in every so often--- to help the kiln temp rise gradually-- about 200 degrees an hour at one point. 
Here's a full pic of the kiln--- and some of the workers and onlookers. This was taken early in the day. Later on in the day, the fire could be seen at the top of the chimney-- coming through and up. 
Kiln- with door sealed. The two holes on the sides of it are for air drafts. It took one person to open and close the door and another one or two people to stoke it each time it was opened, which was every couple of minutes or so. 
A closer look at the groundhog kiln. A few pieces of pottery and good luck charms are on top of the kiln... 
By this time, the pile of wood was getting bigger and bigger right at the door where it was placed. As the kiln got hotter, the pile of ash also got bigger in time. 
I took a break from witnessing all of it and took a few pictures of my teabowls near some daffodils. Beautiful grounds of this wood kiln and Corinne and hal are so generous! 
Temp of the kiln got hotter and hotter--- I forget what the final temp was... Notice the wood piling up on the small window on the right... sometimes small pieces of wood was added into the smaller window to help balance the temp too throughout the kiln. 
Got a picture near it (and it was taken quickly too- it was so hot!) just after the firing--- when the final temp was reached. It was too hot to be dressed like that too. Throughout the earlier part of the day, I had pants and a sweatshirt on too, which was must needed with the high temp of the kiln. 
Towards the end, we could see farther into the kiln--- some of the pots in the back. Was careful to wear sunglasses, so my eyes weren't hurt. 
This is what it looked like in the middle of the firing.... 
Flipped through this book throughout the day. Need to purchase this one! So much in it. All in all, a simply wonderful experience! Next, I'll share the two teabowls I put into the kiln. :) 
2 comments:
OH! absolutely wicked cool :)
There is something so great about a wood kiln, I love firing them with a group of people, so much fun. At first I thought your gas fired pieces had been wood fired. Great results!
The first thing I thought when I saw your photo in shorts was, that girl needs some long pants on :) then I read on! I once burnt a hole in the leg of my jeans from just a hot brick, if that had been my skin I would have a terrible scar.
Post a Comment