Back to Earth

Back to terra Sigillata,that is.The last batch of bowls- a dozen or so- all came out well.Something about their bright orange colour and lack of contraction [stoneware shrinks 12% on firing,porcelain up to a depressing 20%- the earthenware looks maybe to have shrunk 4-5%] makes them stand out in a strange way in the studio.Nobody has commented on them yet,but then again not that many people have been in.
I have just finished a stimulating on-line [Skype] firing counselling session with Vered and Nitzan down in Yokneam.They are firing a small single-burner Laser gas kiln that Nitzan has patched up- the first firing- by tradition,a bisc.They seem to have reached 600 degrees [needing to close the chimney down considerably to retain heat] and I think they should be O.K. to 920,or whatever they fire bisc to.Tomorrow we should see some results...