Stress

This kiln is giving me stress.

I don't realize it, while I'm making pots, bisquing pots, glazing them. It starts when I'm loading the kiln, trying to guess where the bad spots will be this time, deciding which pots will be sacrificial, probably un-sellable, but needed to fill the empty spots, because without the thermal mass, things will be even more unpredictable. Trying to be sure that special orders are near the top, near the back, even if it means they'll be over-reduced and I'll have to refire them in the electric kiln. Thinking longingly of my days back at the Craft Center, where the glaze was always the perfect cream-with-speckles, not dead-white or overly brown. I realize that I'm beginning to dread firing.

I spent a good bit of time trying to knock the bugger back into shape, and it seemed to have helped: it fired evenly, with a minimal adjustment of the damper. Still some oxidation in the bottom front, but most of the space was filled with work for Empty Bowls. (Who knows when that will happen again?) Top and back had some pretty dark pots, enough for nearly a full (electric) kiln's refiring, including five commissioned bowls. But other than that, it was a pretty good firing. 66 units of gas, which is dead average. Still took nearly two hours to drop the final cone, but I think I may have an answer for that, and one that may address the over-reduction.

But damn, I wish I didn't get so anxious every time I light the burners.

Living dangerously

Usually, when I take a special order, I'll make extras. If I have an order for four place settings in fox pattern, I'll make five, or even six. Nine sets of crab-ware, I'll make a dozen. Sooner or later, I'll sell the rest.

This time, though, I had so many commissions. And at least three were of the different-pattern-on-each sort. And while these are great fun to glaze, making extras effectively doubles the size of the project. Ten soup bowls instead of five. Eighty pieces for the forty-piece place setting. So this time, I decided to take some chances.

It helped that none of the orders were particularly time-sensitive. Deadline, whenever, or by Christmas. So if a piece or two didn't work out, I could redo them in my next firing, in a couple of months. Still got that heart-in-my-mouth feeling unloading the kiln, though.

And as it turns out, I got lucky. Everything commissioned came out fine this firing, even the forty-piece set. (That's it, below, the full tub-o-pottery.) I got most of the nine-place crab set out as well, though I'll have to fit the list four or five plates into the next kiln.

Got some really nice bits out of the big order. I'll probably set up and take more photos later, but for now, here's an arctic suite.

Now I just have to pack everything up to ship.

Berry nice

I'm still averaging two quarts of blackberries every second day from the patch in our back yard. We've made jam twice, 9 pints total, baked a pie (needed more sugar, but nice with ice cream), and frozen a bunch. What else can I do with this bounty?

Blackberry syrup.

Take a cup of water, a cup of sugar, two cups of berries, mashed. Put in a two-quart sauce pan with a teaspoon of dry pectin and a dab of butter. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cool a little, and run through a sieve to remove the seeds and skins. (I use my balloon whisk to squeeze out as much juice and pulp as possible.

Serve over waffles, pancakes, or vanilla bean ice cream. I'm also gonna try a shot in seltzer water, make my own blackberry soda.

(The plate is by Don Clarke, of Strictly Functional Pottery, by the way.)

Nerves

Scene from the tall mug shelf at last Saturday's Market. I think the lamb looks... a little nervous? About mid-morning, a customer came in and bought both the lion and the tiger mug, so I got two more out of re-stock.

I'm not sure it's an improvement.

Quite an astonishingly good day, by the way. I knew I'd do well, had nearly $300 in special orders picking up; by 5:00 I'd more than doubled that amount, even made one last sale while packing up.