There's always more to learn when you toy with atmospheric firing. People ask how it went and the answer is 'well 80%', often. That's good. Overall the colours looked encouraging when we opened the kiln door but my batch seems rather brown. I shall refer to my notes and make suggestions to myself to try a different flashing slip, or apply less etc. Every time…
At last I found time to take some photos to document my twenty or so pots that made up the two cubic feet of ware we can each bring to a soda firing. I shall be packing up some for Jonathon's Gallery in London, Ontario, some will go in to Circle Craft shop on Granville Island and I may well keep this first carved bowl…
Your first thought when you've taken your latest pots out of a group atmospheric firing is not necessarily ecstatic. Linda Doherty says that she's never really satisfied on the first day. When I saw that at least two pots weren't quite 'done' I thought that I'd just take all the work home and look at them in the morning. One or two seemed to be…
For those who are wondering what salt fired pots look like, here are my sixteen examples. Jackie's kiln and ten pounds of salt have resulted in consistent orange peel all around these pieces. There is a difference between salt and soda firings and I am pleased to have some more salty pieces for my record. Soda firings produce orange peel too but in those firings…
My title sounds a bit like a risqué petticoat, but no, it refers to the special, very liquid slips that are sprayed onto bone dry or bisqued stoneware pieces prior to a soda or salt or wood firing. They react to the surrounding flames and will lend a delicious opaque colour, often red-brown, orange or blue, or will encourage orange peeling. There's so much to…