Two dishes

 
Not a bad firing at all.Which means,first of all,minimal damage to kiln and pots [always the first thing I look for in a newly-opened kiln]- that cone-bearing structure survived,and the glaze on the large vase didn't,as I had feared,overflow its catcher and weld to the shelf [in fact that large vase ran less than its smaller brothers,an example of the distance between our fears and reality].The kiln was pretty even,another big surprise,and fired without,as far as I can make out,any reduction- an achievement.I lost 4 pots trying to separate them from their bases [impatience- even if they're totally fused to their base,the diamond disc gets them off].There's definite evidence that the crystals are still reacting at 1020degs,as I suspected- in fact,looking closely at the pots,I think that the crystal growth at lower temperatures is smoother,and shall try to incorporate this in next fire [Tuesday?].As I thought,the gas tank is down to 12%,so gritted teeth and ordered refill this morning.All the [25]pots got a good fire,all grew crystals,all [after session with the disc,protected with earplugs,mask and safety glasses] have clean bottoms,and a few had the sort of crystal growth that I'm looking for.Off we go to glaze and load the next candidate.