the first glaze firing since october

the firing went quite smoothly, from 6 am to 9.30 pm on Sunday, and I had managed to mostly forget about it until the opening day, wednesday, when the pyro said a safe and comfortable fifty one centigrade. it’s always nerve-racking taking out the first few bricks

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a relief to see some lovely blues

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but until the last pot is out there are doubts, and then there are questions.

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it seems that the slip wasn’t well mixed, but I love this poured effect where it’s missing from the bottom part, and allows more blue flashing from the chun.

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or where you can see the oxide wash runny lines and dribbles

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also I’m very pleased with this bowl, which has been waiting for at least two years for a glaze firing, and is actually a usable bowl this time, unlike others with ferociously prickly crawled insides. I sponged off most of the oxide to attain this.

11 170416 downpour combed bottle 17 x 13 cm

this is the only pot with real crawling, in fact it’s peeled back to black oxide around the neck. it’s good to have some pieces which still push technique to its limits.

4 170416 pearl raindrops crosses bottle 30 x 23 cm

it’s a shame that the real solidity and 3D presence of this one doesn’t come over in the photograph, it’s quite rounded and bulgy.

6 170416 rusty white coiled jar 29 x 24 cm side view

here is my first attempt at doing something different for the coiled and heavily textured pots I made recently. I painted iron oxide onto it before glazing with an old shino, recipe from Ian Currie with 3% salt. it’s so old in the bin I’m not sure about the salt content now. it could have done with being a bit thicker, and not in that corner of the kiln where the smoke from reduction seems to be thickest, but I don’t like to get it too hot, it goes shiny. I need to glaze or just slip a few of these before I find the best finish for them.

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this one has the same oxide/slip/chun layering as the others and it’s okay, but I think it deserves something that sinks into the surface rather than sitting on top of it.

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but really, no rejects, one of the best firings I have had in that regard. I soaked for half an hour at top temperature, and the kiln did not get any hotter and make the glaze on all the pieces at the top run, as it did last time when the temperature went up a few more degrees. and a lot of nice smaller pots.

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this one was the star though, it was in the hottest place

1 170416 spring rain bottle with impressed crosses reverese 27 x 22 cm

the only one with dribble drops, or bidori.

you can see the rest of the pots here in my drop box account

 

 

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