winter sun

That last firing was great, but I wonder how much reduction I was getting. One tends to see the main symptom of reduction as the big flame out of the chimney/flue. But I noticed that before I started reducing, as it was still a bit dark, I could see little bits of flame coming out. I think my burners are so powerful that the flame is as long as that! (the flame starts UP beside the flue, at the bottom of the kiln, goes up and round the arched ceiling, down again, under the floor, and then up the flue) so if I want real reduction I have to make sure I have lots of back pressure – ie little flames out of any gaps in the clamming, or if the spyhole is opened, a visible flame out of it.

so here is the biggest pot, another attempt at the one which broke. it is of course not as tall, so it looks a bit stumpy.

because the weather is cold and damp I can’t really get the clay to dry out as much so this guy was made with rather more plastic clay than I usually handle, and it has no cracks at all. in fact it was still quite soft when I was beating it with the paddle, so it didn’t even crack at the top, which they usually do. it used about twice the amount of clay something like the tall pot with the ochre band round the waist used.

a beautiful bright day today, but we are tipped over so far away from the sun, now we are nearly at the shortest day, that even at midday the sunshine hardly mitigates the cold air. the woods are very light with all the leaves gone, so you can see into them, and they were back-lit by the low slanting sun. this patch is full of soft brushes of mares-tail, a grey-green texture under the hazel trees.

a huge sky of intense blueness with faraway cities of cloud. the sun makes the rows of little winter wheat stalks incandescent green, a bit like the green copper flames of my firing.