Harvest from Spring Anagama Firing

One of the hardest things about woodfiring is waiting a week to let it cool down before being able to see the pots. Friday we unloaded the Digger Mtn Anagama Kiln after a very long seven days.

Everyone was positively giddy when we saw the first pieces come out with great ash coverage, many crystals and sugary surfaces. As you can see from the top photo, the ash flash was on most every piece. Digger Mtn kiln's Jay Widmer believes it is our particular mix of fir, maple and wet wood (this year alder) that helps develop the colors and crystals we get.

Fellow fire-ers liked the glitzy bumpy vase in the middle, but my favorite for now is the quieter fluted vase at the bottom since it has color and markings that fit the shape well. Got some great color on other pieces and will have to see if the brightness of it all grows on me.

Variations in a Single Firing

This past month I've been working on a set of dinnerware: eight big plates, small plates, smaller plates and bowls. I'm never done so many pieces that were all supposed to match. Luckily the folks buying this set knew that from top to bottom they would get some differences in the glaze and the way the clay looked. That is sure what they're going to get.

The above images illustrate just how broad these variations can be. The three plates on the shelf go from regular reduced atmosphere in the front to very oxidized in the back. The bowls also show how each one dried and warped a bit differently as well as getting different finishes from the firing. Never a dull moment when it comes to pottery...

Below is a complete dinner set that matches pretty well considering.

New Versions of Old Favorites

Since I was glazing a kiln load of plates and bowls with the new green version of my drippy Alberta Slip glaze, decided to just spray the rest of the lot with the same glaze. This was the result. This watercan, basket and "tulip vase" all have a fresh look, and one that will stand out from the darker blues and browns of my other work when I take it all to Ceramic Showcase next month.

Dinnerware Commission

Fired most of the dinnerware set over the weekend. All the plates and a couple of larger serving pieces got in, but the bowls just didn't make it.

Haven't fired that many plates all at one time and tighter stack and extra shelves changed the way my kiln fired a bit... Everything came out a bit darker due to be reduced* during the firing, but I think the darker color will look nice with food. Waiting to hear from the family who ordered them before I begin the boxing/shipping process.

*when the kiln is starved of oxygen the fire seeks it from the chemicals within the claybody, giving stonewares a darker/richer hue.

Leaf Bowls-Phase Three

The first set of leaf bowls turned out nice. The second set warped as they dried and then rocked after they were glaze fired and were generally a pretty motley bunch. With this third set I've made the dart cuts even deeper and the impressed foot smaller to try and make them more of a bowl than a deep plate. Turned them upside down on a flat surface and paddled the foot in hopes that gives them a good non-wacky start to drying.

...feeling like a potter again

It's time to do a glaze firing when the pink pots fill up every shelf and are getting stacked on the floor...All OVER the floor, with no room to walk.

Thanks to a dinner set order that came in during busy Showcase production, I've made more pots in the past month than I have in a long time. Orders make us get into the studio to make things! The thing with handformed plates is that you always need to make many more than the 8 piece place setting to ensure you get 8 that are passable. I know enough not to expect a miracle, but hope no disasters! Hopefully 6 of everything will be excellent and only 2 with flaws but only that I see. Or maybe all the plates will be ok and the bowls iffy. Anyways, the complete set is all in that pepto-bismal stage that we potters detest. "Put some Glaze on us, would you!" they're all crying out.

8 piece place setting - $1000-ish.
8 dinner, salad and bread plates
8 triangular plates
8 leaf bowls
1 leaf serving bowl set
1 pedestal bowl

What inspires us?

This kiln shelf has all the color, drama and element of surprise that I would cherish on any pot of mine should it turn out looking like this. And it just happened that way in the firing through nothing we did, and we will grind off all of this beautiful decoration for the next firing. The marks are left from wads that keep our pottery from sticking to the shelf and from flame and ash that swirled all around.

Beautiful shelf. Hope the pots I'm making for spring woodfire turn out half as good.