Just out of the kiln, more questions ...

Saturday's firing went along just fine until, getting up near body reduction at around cone 012, I peeked into the upper peep and could only see the low-temp cone pack. The 9,10,11 cones behind that pack had all (not so) mysteriously disappeared. Shit. And, of course, that no doubt exploded pack was right next to a large platter, the only piece in the load that was already spoken for.

Otherwise, the firing went as it should, climbing steadily to somewhere around cone 10. I say "somewhere" because I only had the bottom shelf high-temp cones to go by. The lower part of the kiln generally runs about a cone cooler than the upper part, so I shut down the whole firing when cone 9 was flat at the bottom. Didn't want to have ash glazes running off the pots.

In the end, of course, that's what happened anyway. The Leach Kaki, usually dependable at cone 10, ran like water off the few pots I'd used it on. Same with my my newly mixed regular ash glaze. Hmmmmm ...

This is what happens. Just as things seem to be going predictably, something in the operation takes an unexpected left turn. This firing thing sometimes leaves me with as many questions as answers. Or more.

But, explosions and rivers of ash glaze aside, it was a good firing. I think the pictures show that. And the nuka glaze that I tested in the last firing works well on my brown clay pots, particularly on the rough pots with crushed granite wedged in. Lots of places for it to run into and settle.

Because I was to deliver that big platter later this week, I'll have to fire the backup platters and whatever I have left over in the studio in a light firing at the middle of the week.

Back to glazing today.

Nothing like doing this post one bit at a time ... Photo descriptions: Top, Shino on brown clay body made rough by inclusion of crushed granite; small brush holders/vases with overlapped Shino; larger brush holders/vases with overlapped Shinos and (on the right) running Nuka; three more small brush holders; bottom, three rough clay teabowls, Nuka on the left and right, Shino in the middle.