A Man and his Kiln

 
Back to Tel Hai for second semester:first-year students in a flap,experiencing for the first time the results of abandoning the wheel for a couple of weeks [they'll get back into it].Alon's salt-kiln is nearly ready for casting;none of the castable mixtures we tested look ideal-I wonder whether the Negev clay he used as a base is really a fireclay,but then I've never been entirely sure exactly what fireclay is.I suggested that he spread a thinnish layer of bought castable in the inside of the mold as he fills it up,using a home-made mixture as back-fill.I did some origami with the students in the morning for a change-it was interesting to see how difficult it is to communicate instructions for folding a piece of paper,and how quickly the students' frustration reminded them of their years in school.In the background you can see the anagama kiln,with its collapsed tin-drum chimney;this year's firing is in about a month's time,and I've already made three vases for it.