Firing today
Bang on 1ooo degrees,reducing for an hour [I start at 920-ish]: the kiln is,you will recall,in urgent need of a top-end overhaul,but I lack a husky helpmate to help me remove the roof,and am no longer of the age when I would have tackled the job solo,so I made do with a slight lash-up job inside and out.I decided to brick/shelf around the vent [as shown],to get more efficient exhaust from the kiln,but,with strong reduction [like now] I can still smell a whiff of sulphur- that,together with that nice blue-ish flame from the closed-down chimney [see picture] and the slow rise in temp.,tells me I'm getting the reduction I'm looking for.
I haven't finished throwing,but there's an order of napkin-rings for Ronni promised for this week [his washer-uppers are breaking them with gratifying regularity] ,hence today's firing.The kiln is filled with my 2 basic glazes- transparent [called "tweed" because of how it looks on most stonewares] over blue slip,and a buttery-yellow-brown glaze called "cream".I made up a new batch of the blue slip recently- I mix the cobalt colourant in by eye,so am not sure exactly how it will come out- and the Cream is also a bit touch-and-go first time around,being very particular as to thickness.So even though I've been using these glazes for over 20 years,I'm not at all sure how this kiln will come out...
I haven't finished throwing,but there's an order of napkin-rings for Ronni promised for this week [his washer-uppers are breaking them with gratifying regularity] ,hence today's firing.The kiln is filled with my 2 basic glazes- transparent [called "tweed" because of how it looks on most stonewares] over blue slip,and a buttery-yellow-brown glaze called "cream".I made up a new batch of the blue slip recently- I mix the cobalt colourant in by eye,so am not sure exactly how it will come out- and the Cream is also a bit touch-and-go first time around,being very particular as to thickness.So even though I've been using these glazes for over 20 years,I'm not at all sure how this kiln will come out...
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