I candled the kiln overnight, six burners set very low from about 11 p.m. Friday night until I got out of bed at 5 to turn them up. Five a.m. comes very early. Dee often has to remind me why the radio is suddenly blaring next to the bed, in the dark. "Don't you have to do something with the kiln?" she asks, pushing me rudely.
The pyrometer showed just over 750 F. when I went down, as usual. I turned up the gas, went back to bed, then got up in an hour and did it again. Made coffee, made breakfast and made sure we got an early reduction when cone 012 was over. That's usually the routine on firing days. I don't leave the property when the gas is flowing. I make breakfast and stumble through the morning.
This morning, I checked the cones at about 9:45, when the color coming through the upper peep seems to be more on the yellow/white side, usually meaning that we're about to reach temperature. Sure enough, cones 9 and 10 were down and 11 was bending. Turned down the gas a bit, opened the damper and let it run another ten minutes or so in oxidation. Then I shut it down.
Rode my motocycle into town for my customary post-firing cup of coffee at Coffee Obsession, then came home. Now I need to go out to the studio and put the glaze buckets back where they belong and straighten things up a bit before opening the kiln tomorrow. We'll see what's in there.
2 comments:
Hey Hollis, This looks real good...I like the basic black and your photos look real rich framed that way. You've certainly placed my name in company that no one else would consider. Thanks for the compliment. Are you still eating paella?
Nice blog here dad... a good outlet for the writing and a great way to see the new works as they come out of the fire.
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