Meltdown

We had electricians in to rewire for the kiln and somehow my kilnsitter was bumped, the failsafe timer wasn`t working, and ultimately I wasn`t watching well enough so we had a mini Chernobyl in our back yard. The shelf supports warped, my ware melted, and the shelfs collapsed and warped which means the kiln must have reached 2000+ degrees. I still had a lot of pieces completed so was able to organize a pretty good display at the Evergreen sale. I didn`t have a lot of sales but talked to a lot of people who were interested in my work and got to know other potters so I count it as very successful.

Kiln woes and Evergreen Artisan Show

I have been toiling away roughly 10 hours a day getting pieces ready for Evergreen, as usual focusing more on making than finishing! I climbed a steep learning curve in formulating glazes, then airbrushing and spraying on lovely finishes but when I got to the final stage of actually firing the pieces where I had a little confidence...neither kiln worked! DH Ray phoned Olympic kilns where he talked to a very knowledgeable person who told him what was wrong and offered to ship the new part right away. Two weeks later it hasn't arrived and we've moved on to getting the electric kiln ready for use. Ray built a 3 sided box to provide some shelter from the elements, ran the cable into the house and sealed the basement window, and we plugged the kiln into the dryer receptacle only to find that it wouldn't work, at all! My poor wares went through many bisque, re-bisque, etc firings after which we've discovered that our wiring is in terrible shape, breaker box was a huge fire hazard and we needed to hire electricians to come in and repair all. We purchased the house last summer and this was all good to know so we are getting the needed repairs done right now and I have 2 days to do about three firings. Of course that doesn't include all of my high fire stoneware and porcelain which is waiting for the gas kiln but I am further ahead than I was a few days ago! I will be posting photos very soon.

More pottery pieces I've made

I have included a slideshow of completed, and in-progress pottery, glass, and photography at the bottom of this blog. Please check it out!

Some jewellry bowls I have made

I have been busy working in my basement studio preparing bisqued pieces to take to a Red Deer College Summer Art Series course on cone 6 glazes that I have been anxiously anticipating. I purchased a used gas kiln that I haven't had the courage to fire yet and have quite a bit of work stockpiled for the day when I can confidently brave the kiln with my kiln goddess at my side! Until then I have been using mainly cone 6 stoneware with the odd piece in porcelain or high fire stoneware in anticipation of eventually achieving that lovely cone 10 look. I have been using Ravenscrag slip with 20% Ferro Frit and oxides added in, which offers a somewhat limited pallette of colors and textures. This course offers the promise of rich, colorful glazes which can be fired to cone 6, as well as a week spent among people who also have a passion for creating items of beauty from lumps of mud..I can't wait!