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Firing IV.

2009-11-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

The firing was ok, not good or great but ok. I reduced the kiln too much and ended up with a lot of brown pots which are perfectly salable but not at all what I wanted. That being said there were a few pots that were exceptionally nice. I went into this firing with a bit of apprehension because the last firing I had was pretty much a perfect firing...I had discovered magic and didn't know if I could do it again. I like to think I know a lot but really I'm still a newbie to this whole wood firing thing and probably it is a set of skills that can never be truly mastered(that's probably why I like it so much.) I often times set expectations far too high for myself and then get angry when I can't reach them. I'm bummed about the color on the pots but I'm certainly happy and excited to have what I consider to be another successful firing under my belt.

When I get bummed about firing results I like to think about firing #3 in my first wood kiln...I opened the door to what looked like a good firing and discovered I'd made an error too foolish to mention and had about a 75% failure rate. This firing had less than a 5% failure rate which is pretty darn good. The pots are ok and will eventually sell and I'll go on and make more and there will be good firings and bad ones and the cycle will repeat ad nauseam until I die. I'd better get used to it.

The top of the front stack...this area and the flu stack were the nicest.

Bleh...brown pots.

I had a shelf come off one of the props and I have no idea how that happened. The only thing holding this up was that it was stuck to the other two props...must've happened late in the firing. I only lost the two yunomi and the lidded jar...a bit of a serendipitous disaster.

The student and the master...sometimes it's good to be reminded which one I am.

Here are 2 pieces of advice; 1: Keep a clear firing log. 2: If you haven't fired your kiln is six months think logically about your poorly written observations. "2/3" under the damper column is not very informative, though it may seem logical at the time. Anyone who has fired any type of fuel kiln can tell you that firing with the damper 2/3 in is going to give you a strong reduction. Why did I not consider this? I was probably too busy thinking about how I've got this wood firing thing down. Duh- 2/3 out or 1/3 in, you friggin dingleberry.

I'll post more photos when I get a chance.

Cheers!

firing IV knocked out of the park.

2009-11-13T14:12:00.001-08:00

I figure since Kline has abandoned the roman numerals I'll pick them up for awhile...though I probably won't be putting them on my pots anytime soon.

Cone 10 down...I extended this firing out to 7 hours, up from 6 the previous firing. I'm planning on doing a "glaze" firing in the next load so I spent some time playing with the passive damper trying to slow down the firing at the end. I've never really used it other than to help even out the kiln if it needed it.

Here is the wood that is left over...this is a pretty efficient kiln. And I didn't even have to use much of the f-up lumber(as I like to call it.)

Well, now it's 45 hours of waiting to see if I've been blessed or cursed. My next post will be #250 so I think I'll save that for the unloading.

Now I'm going to go dig a chunk of wood(not a splinter) out of my finger...that's the price of woodfiring. I don't mind, the pots are worth it. Maybe I should wear gloves....oh yeah.

Cheers!

ready to go.

2009-11-12T22:07:00.001-08:00

The kilns all ready to go...I'll start first thing in the morning.

Here is the firebox length wood...with a goat on top. I need to remember to shut the door behind me when I go to the barn. That shorter stack on the left is 1/2 - 3/4 length for stoking if the kiln is uneven. This wood goes into the kiln above the grates once it hits red heat...12-1300 degrees.

These short blocks are 10-15" and are split into smaller pieces while the kiln is firing. They are used for the beginning all the way up to about 1200 degrees and are stoked below the grates to keep the flame from touching the pieces before red heat. The first half of the firing is fairly boring when you are by yourself so I keep a stack of wood to chop to keep myself occupied. I have a chopped stack ready to go so that I don't ever get short on wood.

The kiln has been walking a bit...about 3/4" so far. I was able to put clamps on the kiln and move it back about 1/4". I've heard that sometimes these kilns walk out and then walk back in, but that doesn't seem to be happening here. The kiln isn't an arch all the way to the ground...the firebox is a vertical wall about 3' tall with the arch on top of that and no bracing, so I should probably fix that.

I haven't fired in about 6 months so I thought I would start a small fire to be safe in case there is any moisture. I took it up to 250 degrees in about an hour and then clammed it up when the temp started to fall. It should be just over 100 when I go out in the morning and then I'll let her rip.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers!

loaded.

2009-11-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

I finished loading the kiln last night at about 9pm.

Here are the pots that made it in. There were also 2 large platters, 2 medium platter/bowls and a dozen taller pieces...all of these pots but 2 made it in the kiln, I think it was 185 pieces in all.

I ran out of room in the barn so I had to keep some outside.

The kiln cleaned out and ready to start loading. I stack the back 2 sets of 12x24's and the 10x20's by the flu first. When those are done I do one more 12x24 stack in the front.

I glue the wads onto all the pieces as I load them. I used to wad them and then carry them out to the kiln but it's about 100 yards and they don't always balance well on boards with the wads already on. The glue keeps them in place in case I want to pick a piece up and move it, otherwise the wads fall off.

How I stack plates. I like to stack the plates high so the weight warps them and gives the rim a little wobble.

3/4 done...all that's left is the front stack of shelves.

Finished...9 hours later.

Hopefully firing on Wednesday...though maybe not until Friday. I have a lot going on at school this week and may not be able to get away.

Cheers!

pots and goats.

2009-11-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

Loading the kiln, it's about halfway there. I'm also having to fend off the goats and keep them from knocking over the 200 or so pots that are laying around. They like to climb on things and play king of the hill....like my wood piles.

More later.

Cheers!

back to work.

2009-11-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

I'm still here working like a dog. I've been glazing pots this evening and hopefully will finish glazing and decorating tomorrow and if the gods are kind I will begin loading the kiln tomorrow night.

The Elmer Taylor workshop went well...in the afternoon we had about 40 people, standing room only. A nice problem to have sometimes. In true workshop fashion he didn't make too many pots but told lots of stories...along with many of his teaching/educational stories. Very entertaining.

Some of his pots. He decorates with slip immediately after it's thrown and while it's still attached to the wheel. He's very fast and very spontaneous. I've never much cared for Elmer's pots...not that they're bad, they just don't speak to me. But as I've gotten to know him better this last year they've started to grow on me. I certainly enjoy his personality, he speaks his mind, has solid opinions and can be a bit crass at times. I enjoy that.

A personal favorite.

Organizing a workshop sure is a lot more work that I thought...I'm pretty tired, think I'll hit the sack.

Well...I'll leave it at that. More to come as I load the kiln.

Cheers.

it smells like goat in here.

2009-11-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

We have a couple of new family members. Lee(white) and Harvey(black) have become our new resident weed eaters. They like to sleep and lounge in my kiln...while that is kind of adorable I fear that it's not too safe. We'll see how this pans out.

Cheers!

procrastinating.

2009-10-31T14:32:00.001-07:00

I came up to the studio today just to put these little handles on the covered jars pictured below. I'm supposed to be chopping wood for the upcoming firing but sitting around on a saturday listening to wait, wait... and cartalk on npr sounded much more enticing. To further the procrastination I decided to post some photos of some recently finished pots.

Detail of handle on jar...I really like fat handles.

Some small condiment bowls, or "guinomi" of you're a pottery elitist ;)

Some large casseroles.

Slip decoration as a base for further decoration later.

Mixing bowl, this was a new idea that was moderately successful.

Well...back to work.

Cheers!

full again.

2009-10-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

The racks are nearly full again. I've already emptied these racks once, looks like I'll be doing it again soon. I've got a couple dozen pots under plastic for handling/trimming tomorrow and then this work cycle will be coming to an end. I'm sure I'll have some last minutes pieces being produced Kline style.

Here is a texture detail of a big platter I made the other day. I'm pretty pleased with this, it took nearly half an hour!

I'm running a special on shipping over in my etsy shop...you'll have to go look to find out what it is.

9:12pm...suppose I should go eat something.

Cheers!

myth busted.

2009-10-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we had a customer in our showroom that made a comment about my mugs being heavy. I mumbled something about better heat retention and left it at that. So today for curiosities sake I decided to measure and weigh one of those standard straight sided mass produced coffee mugs.

Let me preface with this: my mugs are made from one pound of clay and then have an attached handle. After firing they vary in size and shape and hold about 12 oz give or take. After firing they weigh around 13 oz and the walls at the thickest are 3/16" thick.

The mass produced mug holds exactly 12 oz. The walls are consistently 1/4" thick and taper to 1/8" on the rim and it weighs exactly 1 pound. They have possibly the most uncomfortable handles known to man.

What is with this notion that thinner is better? Thin cups chip/break easier and they lose the heat/cold faster. Functional pots should function properly.

I'll leave it at that.

Cheers!

Elmer Taylor Workshop

2009-10-29T11:12:00.001-07:00

Pottery workshop with UNT Professor of Art Elmer Taylor.
HSU Frost Center, Abilene, TX
Nov. 5th 10am-5pm.
Free for students
$5 for non-students.
Lunch provided but bring your own beverages.
RSVP @ bphillips@hsutx.edu

For more info on Elmer go here.

Cheers!

kiln shelves.

2009-10-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

I recieved new kiln shelves for the university today. We ordered from Larkin Refractories, a place where I've gotten the majority of my kiln supplies since I left school. I ordered a bunch of their 12x24 "Fines Bonded" silicon carbide shelves many years ago(chinese imports)and I have been more than thrilled with them. 30+ salt firings, 15 wood firings, never flipped, never cracked, flat as when I bought them. In salt firings the salt just beads up(or foams up) on the surface and is easily scraped with a rub brick, never once had to use a grinder on these from the salt kiln. The salt and ash combo from the wood kiln can require the use of a grinder but it never takes away any of the shelf, they come out looking brand new. They are 1/2" thick and have relief cuts that are supposed to keep them from warping & cracking, in my experience it works. So at $45 each I thought they'd be fantastic for the school.

The new shelves come with a kiln wash already applied. It's powdery so I'll just scrub it off and apply my own...I don't like not knowing exactly what's on them(can someone say"control freak"?)

I've heard some rumors on clayart over the last couple years that these kiln shelves often show up slightly warped, I thought this may be a fluke since mine were fantastic. I don't know if Larkin changed the supplier or if the supplier changed their quality control but many of ours are warped. You can see in the photo below the gaps between the shelves as they rest up against eachother.

About 1/3 of these are warped enough to notice, but still much flatter than the shelves we use now. If they're anything like the shelves I use they shouldn't go any further out of shape. If I were a production potter making lots of flatware(plates) I probably wouldn't buy these shelves. On the other hand for student work, small work, or kilns where the pieces are wadded I think these are a great buy. Hopefully they're just as study as mine, they'll go into rotation real soon so I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

lots of pots.

2009-10-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't been making too many pots this last week which is okay considering I have nearly 500 pieces waiting to be fired. The next firing is set for early November...soon! I picked up a few loads of wood last weekend and will have a few more this weekend. I'm going to start cutting/chopping/sorting this week as well as getting the kiln ready. It's been sitting idle for six months so it'll be nice to get it going again.

I spent a good amount of time this last week doing glaze testing..about 35 tests. I fired them up with student work in the gas kiln and wouldn't you know there was a little oxidation pocket right on my glaze tests, geez. Fortunately I was looking more at the surface than color so it's not a big deal. I've been modifying my main ash glaze as well as a couple other glazes I have. They've not been coming out so well in my new kiln so I've been tweaking them to see which ones show promise and then I'll test a few of those in the next wood firing. I have a couple really nice new glaze ideas...I have the test pieces at home so no pictures yet.

Here are a bunch of pots I finished up this weekend. Baking dishes, mugs and large bowls.

Some large platter/bowls I made today...just for the heck of it. The biggest is 23".

This is a nice little cup one of my students picked up this last weekend at the Texas Clay Festival. It's by a fella named Patrick Veerkamp, if you've been a long time reader you know he is one of my favorites. This is a nice piece, a celadon over a crackle slip and soda fired. Similar to some work I'm doing right now.

That's all for now. Cheers!

teapots.

2009-10-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some teapots I assembled today, there was a sixth but he didn't make the cut. I have a bunch of bowls to flute but I spent all my free time today assembling these guys, nearly 3 hours...way too long. My "standard" teapots take about 10 minutes each to assemble, these were about 25 minutes.

Well, off to pack up and ship some pots.

Cheers!

modified coil & throw

2009-10-15T10:30:00.001-07:00

I'll take a video of this process another time when I can produce a piece start to finish. This will have to suffice for now.

Here is the base piece. The bottom up to the wide point was thrown in one piece and above that is a coil that I attached and threw yesterday.

The "coil," thrown on the wheel, it is thrown upside down and flipped onto the piece. This is about 5# which was too much but that's ok. Notice the flange on the rim, that will sit over the rim on the base to help make a better joint. Leave it attached to the bat.

The coil set on the piece and then cut off with a needle tool.

With the bat removed.

Smooth in the joint and start pulling.

If I wanted to make a vase it would start looking like this, I wanted a covered jar and had too much clay so I cut some of this off.

I learned a little trick from Willem Gebben: Adding these little ridges to where the joints are helps hide any irregularities in the joint and the form, it's also a nice decorative embellishment.

The finished piece(without lid.)

Voila! Cheers!

done with the big guys.

2009-10-14T18:10:00.001-07:00

I've finished up all the big pots except for one. I'll get that one finished tomorrow. I'd really like to make more but I can only fit so many in my kiln and big pots don't exactly fly off the shelves, so I'm set for awhile.

Variations of an idea...these are in the 16" range. Not a clue if I'm going to slip and/or glaze these ones.

The tallest on the left is 23". The jug will get a nice tenmoku and I think the tall guy would look nice with amber...maybe? For the past 3 years I've been using predominantly one slip and 2 different glazes every once in awhile. That made choices easier, now I have to make more decisions.

Tomorrow I'm going to start back with some smaller items. I've wanted to make some one-person teapots so I'll do that, and maybe some new/regurgitated bowl shapes.

Cheers!

big 'uns.

2009-10-12T15:03:00.001-07:00

I've been working on some "big" pots last night and today. I save these pots for when I teach the sectional/coil & throw methods to my advanced students. The two on the right that look finished are sectional pieces, the back two are pieces that have had a coil added to them. For reference the tall jugs there are about 16" and made from 12# of clay. All of these were made on my kickwheel...there was no way I could handle that much clay on my treadle wheel.

I finished up these butter dishes today as well. I really like these. I tend to stay away from what I call "use specific" pieces, meaning pieces that really only have one specific function. A lot of these types of items tend to be novelty items(french butter dishes, chicken bakers, etc.) and I've found that a lot of the time when people buy them they are buying the novelty and not the pot. Anyways, I don't mean to sound elitist, it's just my personal take on things. So yeah, butter dishes, pretty cool.

The inside of the butter dish.

That's all for now, cheers!

more work.

2009-10-09T13:27:00.001-07:00

More pots! You may notice that most of this work isn't slipped, I'm going to do a "glaze" firing in my kiln this fall. I've been working mostly with slips since I've left college and while I will continue that work I want to try some new things.

stupid blogger.

I'm pleased with these feet.

These pots below are by my two second semester ceramics students. They've produced about 60-70 pieces each in the last 5 weeks. I push them pretty hard but the results speak for themselves. In the second semester we work a lot with repetition, not exact reproduction but rather exploring forms through multiple variations. That's why you see lots of the same thing. My philosophy is that you'll never learn anything by making just one or two of something(technically or formally.) Make 8, 20, or even 50, then give them an honest critique and toss the weak ones and move forward. The way I set their "quota" for an assignment is based on the amount of time they spend in the studio out of class. For cer.2 I expect 6-8 hours minimum per week out of class, and if I'm not getting that then I raise the amount of required work. In their third semester I expect double that. Fourth semester and beyond it's their full-time job. I ride them pretty hard but the goal of these two students in particular is to get into graduate school right after undergrad. Gotta instill that work ethic.

That's all I have for now, cheers!

texan clay storage

2009-10-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

In true Texan fashion we have had an old refrigerator sitting in our carport for about a year and a half(at least it wasn't on the porch!) We got a new one awhile back and I'd been saving this guy to store clay in. After I took the university job and moved my studio up there it's just been sitting all alone unused. Now I have over 2000# of mixed clay with another 1200# on the way and not enough space to use barrels to store it all so I brought the fridge up to the school. I removed everything inside and sealed up all the little holes with silicone. I think it will hold about 8-900# and another 150-200 in the freezer. Classy.

Cheers!

pots for clunkers!?

2009-10-01T15:38:00.001-07:00

Here are some jugs I just made a few minutes ago. 4# of clay. This is not a "standard" shape for me, I made a few like this several months ago and came across one I had set aside and really liked so I thought I'd make some more. It's a tough shape to make work, I made 8 but scrapped 3.

The original. This guy has a serious case of the dreaded slip cracking. I liked it too much to send off to the seconds table so it went into the studio to become a source of inspiration.

Here are a bunch of yunomi I've made for what is going to be my variation of the C.U.P. project.

I've had this idea for awhile to give pots away to people who might be interested in the whole handmade thing. I've struggled with the best way to go about doing it. My solution is to give away 2 cups to people who make purchases at our next 2 home sales(dec/may). The first is to give away to someone who is not yet a believer in all things handmade but might become one. The second is a gift to the purchaser for their continued patronage as well as helping to potentially further my customer base.

I could potentially be giving away a lot of product here but like lots of potters I can make waaay more pots than I can sell if I choose to. Mugs seem to be the better choice but I can make yunomi twice as fast as mugs and can squeeze more into the kiln. The longterm benefits may or may not be worth it...I'll let you know in a year or so.

My next brilliant idea? Pots for clunkers. Bring in your mass produced dinnerware set and get 40% off a new set from me. I've not worked out the kinks in this one yet, but be on the lookout.

Time to go drop my aesthetic biases on a group of aspiring potters ;)

Cheers!

bisque.

2009-09-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the shelves are full of bisqueware and I have more than enough to fire. I need to get these pots out of here so I can keep making. I have about 1000#s of clay waiting to become pots and another 1200# in the drying racks. As soon as that's out I'll mix another 1200#. I'm trying to get enough clay mixed to get me through the winter. I'm going to keep making and do back to back firings later on. We have our homesale coming up the first weekend in December and I'd like to fire at least twice before then, though three firings would be nice. I don't need that many pots but I don't want to fire in the nasty winter months of dec-feb. Shows start back up in late March so it would be nice to have a shows worth of good pots ready to go.

I did a little workshop at McMurry University last week, it was a lot of fun. We started at 8am which is a little early to throw and talk but after about an hour the juices were flowing and we had a good time. Want to book a workshop? Send me an email. I'm cheap and only require lodging and good food, good beer is always a plus too.

Back to potting.

Cheers!

This is serious.

2009-09-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I think we should all get together and demand that Scott Cooper (This Week @ St. Earth)blog more than once a week. Who's with me? We should start a facebook group or something.

inquiry.

2009-09-21T20:49:00.001-07:00

I found 2300 degree IFB for $2.11 at Harbson-Walker(AP Green) in Dallas. That's a pretty good price nowadays...even better than Larkin Furnace. So, I'm a deal shopper, anyone know of a place that can beat it?

cup from the east coast.

2009-09-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

I recently spotted this cup on Hollis Engleys blog and tried to purchase it, he insisted we trade and a few days ago it arrived. The cup is at home and my camera is at school so this photo is off his blog. When it comes to teabowls/yunomi(whatever you want to call them,) Hollis gets it...I think thats all that needs to be said. This has gone into rotation and has quickly become one of my favorites.

Thanks Hollis!

Cheers!

grunt work.

2009-09-20T19:12:00.001-07:00

Today I mixed up about a dozen test slips for the next firing and made enough cone packs and trays for 3 firings. I use 11 cones, 08,05,03,01,1,3,5,7,8,9,10, per spyhole(x4 spyholes) per firing...thats a lot, but it's the only way to make sure the old gal fires evenly. The little trays keep the melted cones from dripping on and ruining things. I still have to make some test rings and then I'll bisque it all, the cones to 012 or lower so they don't start to melt. I bisque them so I don't have to worry about them blowing up if I fire too fast.

I nerded out a little today and wore one of my favorite t-shirts to the studio. Ok, I wore it yesterday too...I was feeling nostalgic.

Thanks for the comments on the previous post...I enjoyed what everyone had to say. I like those sorts of interactions so we may have to do some more of that. If anyone wants to throw their 2 cents in, feel free.

Cheers!