Sometimes The Kiln Just Laughs At You

Harken,my friends,to what the old potters say: if you want one,make two,because something like this will happen to one of them- three-quarters underfired and stuck to two bowls.
The glaze firing was strange- a very smoky flame,but hard to get strong reduction pressure. I managed to get it evenly up to cone 9,but understood what had happened as soon as I opened the kiln the day after. Without going into all the sordid details,it was a bunch of things I'm supposed to know by now- not to jam the flue exits at the bottom with lots of pots and/or a too-low shelf [I did both,thank you], to give large and delicate pieces on which you've spent a long time the space they deserve in the kiln [which I didn't]-I was lecturing some unfortunate student on this topic only last week at Tel Hai.....and an important General Rule- don't blame your kiln,it's usually the fool loading and firing it.