Anagama

In the end,the students couldn't wait until next Monday to open the kiln- a commendable attitude- so they unloaded yesterday.I didn't get to see all the pots- I was on my way to Tel Hai when Gunn called and told me it was all over.She seems happy with results- as usual,I have reservations:the 2 bowls got a good dose of ash,but the bottle vases are only just starting to take on ash and flash.The saki cups from the back of the kiln got nicely salmon-pink-flashed,as I had hoped,with some tasteful ash drips and runs.All the bottles and one of the bowls have cacks,which,even allowing for the notoriously loose aesthetic of wood-firing,is not what we look for; but this is merely [my] inadequate technique,spurring one on to geater care in the making next time.Meir mentioned the possibility of firing his anagama in Oct/Nov.
Meanwhile,there have been a lot of visitors over the holiday,and the shelves are not quite as jammed as they were a week ago.As usual,the crystal glazes and kabbalah mugs have been the main sellers,followed by medium-sized serving bowls in all glazes- but I managed to sell a few nice anagama pots from previous firings as well,and some stuff from the salt.
How the average Israeli manages to gain 2kilos in weight over the holiday season beats me; I invariably shed a kilo or so [much needed] and feel like I'm fasting most of the time.