Glove Offering

A rare video [click title] of the end of a firing at Meir's anagama. Meir,Noam,Avigail and I side-stoked valiantly through the night,an activity requiring constant vigilance,perpetual motion,frequent bending and a surgeon's delicate touch while slowly being roasted and experiencing dismay at diminishing wood supplies and strength as the back part of the kiln slowly and fitfully crawls up to its full temperature. Over the years I have only occasionally been present for this part of the firing; now I remember why. At some point [after a 10 hour shift] I lurched off to sleep for a couple of hours,returning to find Tamar and Ron providing the final push to help Meir reach cone 10 at the back [maybe more]. With coals piled high in the side-stoking channels and the end of a vast pile of excellent eucalyptus slats Meir called time on the firing [some 5 hours longer than predicted],ports were clemmed with an exotic mixture of clay,sand,straw and ash,and I drove carefully home,where,sleep-deprived but happy,I'm mustering my remaining forces for tomorrow at Tel Hai.