Days Like This

 Two posts in one day!  I LOVE days like this.  A wonderful, lazy day--- Quiet, peaceful, with much silence.  Went on a walk even in this humidity- and the kiln continues to fire.  Here is part of dinner--- homegrown potatoes from my parent's home and salmon!  It's good that I like it dark; the fire usually isn't that hot.

Homegrown peas are risotto are still cooking.  The salmon and potatoes will have to wait a few minutes to be eaten. This is part of my food for the week- yum!  Think it looks much better in my pottery.

Recycle (kind of) $1.87

 Recycled these plants- sort of.  Above are the finished products.  Added some extra smooth rocks that I had on hand.  Two on the left are succulents.   All rescued from Lowe's in the clearance section for $1.87 total.  :)  They're a bit hard to re-plant; they are SO fragile, I always end up losing some leaves in the process.  They'll be at a place where they get little care which is perfect because they grow as SLOW as molasses!

 Found three old pots--- from the early years and decided to recycle them, putting them to good use again.

Can you believe I paid a $1 for the vine?  Love this!  Most of my plants were once clearance ones and are back to 100% or better.  The succulents are sitting out in the sun (they were too wet) to dry out before they arrive at their new home on the bathroom windowsill.   Here's hoping they grow well!
Off to find some glaze recipes!

First Kiln Loading- and NPR

 First kiln load- this was the bottom stack.  Blue t-shirt is a tip someone gave me.  It to help protect the kiln bricks during the loading.  Plus, it's an old tennessee lady vols t-shirt.   Good luck charm.  One of my favorite teams!   (those are test tiles that were extruded).

I took my time in this.  I probably didn't load the kiln as tight as I could. I also heard that it's best to not stack the firings- even the bisque ones too much.  The more air between the pieces, the better.  What's your insight in this?

 I also listened to NPR- some Krista Tippett podcasts.  I'm thinking this will become a tradition.  Helped me to keep a slow, steady pace.  Also wore a dust mask as I 'sanded' the pieces with this sponge; this kind has two textures-- one soft and another a bit rougher--- to ensure that the bowls were smooth.  Especially with the wording, this step, while a bit monotonous, makes a big difference in the finished piece.

 Okay, here's another question.  The skutt manual says to leave 2 inches all around thermocouple--- that is ALOT of space!  Hard to plan around.  I still did it. I'm guessing this is just well, helpful overall.  Any insight?
In all this, I was struck by how long this all took.  Making pottery is not to be rushed.  There was this great rhythm in it all, that I loved.  Putting puzzles together was fun for me as a kid and that has served me well; it is a puzzle to load kilns!

 That different piece is by the Dalton's.  Am bisque firing it for them... Good air flow in this kiln loading.  Bisque firing this weekend!

Dinner was tuna salad.  Saw the ad that tuna was on sale and haven't eaten it in months, yet it sounded so good.  Excellent protein; two eggs, a can of tuna salad, and tomatoes with mayo.  Don't eat meat much, so this was definitely a match!  Kiln loading advice, please to this new kiln owner!  

Almost Time

 The kiln is empty; I will load it for the first time tomorrow for a bisque firing.  :) Almost time!  It's so clean and neat.  Will do my best to keep it that way!  Also heard that it's good to keep a log of firings that one does on one's kiln, so I will do that.

 Before that I just had to take some time today to Spent some time experimenting with bowl forms.  I like all of these.  My jury's still out as to which of these I'll be making a bunch more of in the days to come.

Tomorrow, a bisque firing and some test glaze mixing.   What a great weekend it will be!