With the firing a week away and pots still wet I have a busy week ahead. The dry box is running 24hrs and doing a fine job. I squeezed out a couple of jars today with some clay that I have from Kim Ellington. It's the last of the clay Kim brought in '06 when he and I taught at Penland School. I've been saving it like a miser.
Today I had to fix my extra thermocouple for my pyrometer so I could use it on my extra bisque kiln. I will have to fire two kilns a day to get everything bisque fired in time for the Friday loading of the wood kiln. Most of the remaining pots are so big I can only fire one at a time, I have a mind to glaze some bone dry, we'll see.
The weather has been very cold tonight (20*F) and the wind is blowing very hard. Winter is still in charge here in the mountains and still I hope that it will warm up a bit when it gets to be loading day. I'm very excited about having some big pots to work on and fire. It's a bit of a luxury to fire a dozen big jars in the kiln and I'm curious to see how it will fire. I am thinking about glazes and designs for these pots and have the luxury of having some favorites from the last firing (December) in the shop to inspire and lead the way. Here is a 1 gallon size jar with a pretty amber glaze over some underglaze brushwork and a glass run that I am particularly fond of. I try to keep personal favorites to myself so I can have reference points to work from.
My blogging this week may be spotty, but I hope to share some painting, slip trailing, glazing stuff with you, my faithful readers.
I love that streak of contrasting glaze, what a brilliant idea. Your brushwork is brilliant, what sort of brushes do you use? I'm a messy painter so I tend to slap it on with a chinese paintbrush, they hold the slip well. I look forward to seeing you in action this week.
ReplyDeleteWell, must kip (dress in animal pelts - the wife loves it)