Friday, November 19, 2010

A pretty good firing






I opened the kiln all by myself this morning, missing the friends that are often part of the unloading. Sometimes it's good to have the hundred or so pots all to myself when they're still warm.
This was a pretty good firing. One of my unloading friends, who grew up in Minnesota, says that "pretty good" is Minnesotan for "f---ing wonderful." Dan Finnegan sometimes uses the word "tasty." Well ... there were a lot of nice pots in this firing - mugs bound for the Daily Brew in Cataumet, tumblers for the gallery here, Shino vases that might look good to the folks who come for the holiday sale (Dec. 18-19, in case you're coming). The Shinos did what they're supposed to do, with the carbon-trap version carbon-trapping and the new batch of Davis Red Shino behaving nicely. The crackle slip worked well, particularly under the trapping shino. The celadon ash glaze that I use as a liner was a bit underfired, but not much. I tried to keep the temperature right at cone 10, since the occasional cone 10.5 sometimes makes the ash glaze run off onto the shelf. It's a game of inches, this firing business.
I tested a Leach Kaki and a Shaner Oribe, both of which are lovely, though the Oribe looks more like a celadon. More copper carb, perhaps.
Anyway, I wanted to post pictures quickly. So here they are.

15 comments:

am said...

chapeau bas!

Hannah said...

Hi Holis, I like the mugs and the beakers. Glad you had a good firing. Hope your sale goes well.
hx

Tracey Broome said...

You shouldn't have any problem getting rid of any of those pieces, really beautiful!!!!! I'm firing a wood kiln this weekend, hope my shinos look half as good!

doug Fitch said...

Beautiful pots Hollis

ang design said...

yep pretty good :))

Unknown said...

Fan Fu_kingtastic, I'd say!

maria said...

really nice !!!

janet said...

f___ing wonderful!
I especially like seeing the before and after.

cookingwithgas said...

I'm with Janet- took the words right out of my mouth!
Love those little beakers!

Paul Jessop said...

I'm not one to use Language for people with a nervous dispossion, But F--K Me, Nice glazes, realy rich and deep.
Is it me or does your Bisc fired clay look like a red clay, I'm going to have another look.!

Paul Jessop said...

I thought So, those bigger bottles look like they are a red clay, obviousley not but is this a local clay mix, I'm sure I've missed a post some where along the line.

Hollis Engley said...

Thanks, everyone. it was a good firing with some good pots coming out of it. I'm hoping to fire next week again, this time getting random leftover pots out of the way so that I can do a firing of newly thrown stuff for the holiday open house. And yes, Paul, one of these clays is a red (or brown) cone 10 stoneware called Laguna 750. The Shinos work quite differently on the 750 from the effects on the white porcelaneous stoneware B-Mix. Not a local clay at all, though I'd love to find something that would be consistently available and fire to these high temps. I do know where there is some local stuff like that, over on the island near us here. Hard to get a big supply, though.

Ron said...

Great pots Hollis. My favorite is the bottle on the left in the 3rd photo down. best, ron

Craig Edwards said...

Hollis: Here in Minnesota, the consensus is "Pretty good", even an exemplary, "Not so bad". When I'm outside MN and tell someone that there work is "Pretty good" they wonder what is wrong with it :O).
So...there.

Michael Mahan said...

Some very nice pots from your pretty good firing.