Successful firing
10 June 2009 2 Comments
Looks like a pretty successful firing yesterday by my terms. No explosions or severe splintering, although there are a number of what I figured to be inevitable hairline cracks in the fluffy clouds. All in all I don’t think they are as bad off as I expected though, and I’m already thinking through ways to keep this from happening in the future.
A couple of the sculptural storms actually faired very well in comparison to my expectations. I used reclaim clay that was mostly Steve’s White, a low-fire body that is basically free of anything resembling grog.
Later this week, maybe even this afternoon, I plan to begin smoke-firing them. I don’t feel like I have the time to attempt this in a barrel as I’d like to this week, so for the time being the smoke will continue to be electric.
That’s pretty neat. I just found some fire clay (dry, powder) I had misplaced and I am thinking of making a crucible (for my aluminum forge) out of some. Is that kiln home made?
No, not homemade. I’d love to build myself a soda kiln someday though. I have a larger derelict gas kiln in the back yard I might use toward that end if I ever have space and feel like I will be the same place long enough to justify it. Building your own isn’t a cheap proposition from the ground up; most homemade ceramic kilns aren’t small.