It was a hot Summer afternoon when we gathered in Deer Lake Park to unload the Vault Kiln on Tuesday. Right away we could see that the techs had fired the kiln successfully, with even some cone 12s having started melting. We saw lots of carbon trapping and orange peel on pots on the front shelves as we waited for all participants to join us.
As usual, we lined up to pass each pot along as it was removed from the kiln. There’s always more to learn about which clays, slips and glazes have been used. Once all the front shelves had been emptied we quickly tackled the scraping of kiln wads and glass from them, and applied fresh kiln wash ready for the next firing.
In no time the back shelves were emptied too and after dealing with those shelves we were able to admire the results of a very good firing, displayed in the sunshine.
Linda Doherty led a discussion of the work, participants asked about forms and surfaces, and soon we were packing up our treasures and helping to clean up. Once again, many thanks to techs Linda, Cheryl and Tony for a much-anticipated and enjoyable chance to work alongside other atmospheric-firing keeners.
I had left four pieces to be re-fired and, as often happens, they are now deliciously juicy orange peel-y. Yesterday I took photos of all my latest soda pots to have a record. Next blog!
I think one or two will be submitted to gallery manager Janice Cotter to represent me in the upcoming show of work by past PoMoArts ceramics artists-in-residence (opening in late July). It’s going to be so interesting to see what we’ve all been making since working there.
