Waiting

I find the hardest part of firing my kiln is waiting for it to cool.  For some reason I generally fire at night, then have to torment myself waiting for the kiln to cool enough to open it.  Yesterday I did some work outside, but spent most of my afternoon watching Game of Thrones and the evening watching Argo.....a nail biter even though we knew the ending! 

I am, as of now, changing my habits and firing early in the day.  Then when it turns off I can wait late afternoon and all night without peeking.  Sometimes the small, obvious changes are the hardest to put into practice.

I have only opened a few shelves but so far so good.  I finally managed to find space for the dragon and the sea horse.  They've been sitting on my shelves for ages saying, "What about us?"

This firing was a little odd as I didn't discover that the bottom switch was off until the kiln had been going for two hours.  It's all bisque on the bottom so everything should be fine.

This is a short post as I want to get it onto Mud Colony.  Take a look and see what is going on around the world in clay.

We're having a clear, dry, sunny sunday.  Nice for hanging laundry out to dry.  I have my toes crossed for this weather to continue well into October.

Enjoy the day, and, as always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*

Firing

This is the top shelf of my kiln.  It's not really apparent in the photo but the top four inches is a blank ring.  As long as I have at least one round of elements above the shelf it goes up to temp.  I will put a half shelf over the area with glazed ware to help keep the heat in.

The plate is a refire.  I was extremely unhappy with the way it fired originally...too many crawls and thin spots.  I filled in all the bare and thin spots with glaze and repainted the areas where needed.  I use a thick mix of paste (gerstley borate and frit 3124) with mason stain.  Of course, it being a plate, it's entirely possible that I will open the kiln to find it has massive cracks or even in two pieces.  If this were part of a set for sale I would not even think of refiring it.

We'll see, Grasshopper......we'll see.............

We put the leaf mesh on the pond yesterday.  It's easy to open on one edge to feed the fish who are still actively swimming around.  The six black fish become almost impossible to see.

The trees aren't really changing yet.  Some of the swamp maples are changing, but it hasn't been cold enough to get real color.  We often don't get a lot until late October.  There is more color down along the river a couple of miles away.  Perhaps I'll remember to put my camera in the car.  Yeah!

It rained off and on all night and early this morning.  Now we have sun with high thin clouds.  More cool weather is on the way.

It will probably warm up enough this afternoon to get stuff done.  I'm bringing in my more fragile plants today.

Right now I'm off get the papers and do a little marketing.  Enjoy the day and tomorrow, Columbus day.  I think RI is the only state that celebrates it as a legal holiday!

As always......thanks for stopping by...............*s*

Some Say The World Will

END IN FIRE.....

But for potters fire is the end that results in something new and unique.  So our worlds do not end in fire, but rather are a step along a sometimes tortuous path to finishing.  

As you may have guessed, I am getting ready to fire the kiln.  I was going to fire tonight, but it's supposed to be in the mid seventies all week end.  Sun but in the fifties by Monday so I think I'll wait.

A dragon and toes crossed to insure that all goes well.

Meanwhile we are going to put the leaf mesh on the pond, plant a few more day lilies and bulbs.  Sunday, which predicts rain I am going to be cleaning out the back storage area so the electrician and kiln repair guys can help me figure out how to get Little Sister ( 3 1/2 cu. ft. kiln) up and running again.

May all of you who are doing shows, open studios etc. have happy, profitable week ends, and everyone else.....ENJOY AUTUMN!

This post is also over at Mud Colony.  If you follow the link you will find many interesting potters there.

As always, thanks for stopping by..............*s*