A slightly glazed look
Oct. 29th, 2023 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrI didn't get any break at all after Clay Fest; Monday morning, I was back in the studio glazing. I had only six days to glaze the whole kiln load; had to load the kiln on Sunday because of a dental appointment Tuesday. Wound up doing a couple of marathon sessions, packing lunch and supper and glazing straight through till late, but managed to get everything finished by Saturday afternoon.
So I didn't get many pictures in process, just a few pet-centric special orders:
Loading the kiln on Sunday was an adventure. Not only was my Journalism grad student back for more video footage, but I had to Zoom two meetings, the Clayfolk chairs meeting and the general/booth pick. Zoom app on my phone was wonky, lying to me. Said my mike was muted when it wasn't, so people who didn't pin the chair pic kept flipping to me setting shelves. Very embarrassing.
Loading the kiln got a little easier. Jon somehow managed to fire the last load with a carpenter's level still inside, so the bottom shelves were fused glass and aluminum. Karen had scored some one-inch mullite shelves at BRING, so we replaced them all. Hadn't realized how pitted and saggy the old ones were until I was able to stack a load without having to shim and level random low spots. So even with all the distractions, we still managed to close up by 4 pm, our usual time.
Firing went long on Monday. I'm still trying to figure out a firing cycle that doesn't over-reduce the top while not allowing oxidation spots elsewhere. As you can see, I wasn't entirely successful, but it was still generally a good firing. And I spent the extra time waiting for temperature by getting a head start on glazing for my next kiln.
So I didn't get many pictures in process, just a few pet-centric special orders:
Loading the kiln on Sunday was an adventure. Not only was my Journalism grad student back for more video footage, but I had to Zoom two meetings, the Clayfolk chairs meeting and the general/booth pick. Zoom app on my phone was wonky, lying to me. Said my mike was muted when it wasn't, so people who didn't pin the chair pic kept flipping to me setting shelves. Very embarrassing.
Loading the kiln got a little easier. Jon somehow managed to fire the last load with a carpenter's level still inside, so the bottom shelves were fused glass and aluminum. Karen had scored some one-inch mullite shelves at BRING, so we replaced them all. Hadn't realized how pitted and saggy the old ones were until I was able to stack a load without having to shim and level random low spots. So even with all the distractions, we still managed to close up by 4 pm, our usual time.
Firing went long on Monday. I'm still trying to figure out a firing cycle that doesn't over-reduce the top while not allowing oxidation spots elsewhere. As you can see, I wasn't entirely successful, but it was still generally a good firing. And I spent the extra time waiting for temperature by getting a head start on glazing for my next kiln.