15 hours for the firing. We lit the kiln at 7.30am. Aaron gave us some advice about gas and air pressure and the damper and we were off!

I put handles on a jug, mug and the teapot and enjoyed throwing some parts of a casserole and a new vase. The durable stoneware and the salt finish are encouraging me to make pieces that lend themselves to function. Every mark on the surface will be enhanced whether I like it or not so that provides more ideas too.

During the afternoon I organized a burrito making party. While I weighed out the salt, volunteers wrapped 4oz into a sheet of newspaper to form a burrito. We calculated that 4 burritos introduced into each side of the kiln could then be recorded as 2lbs per salting. 14 1/2 lbs were prepared. So far the firings have used about 6lbs. I had other ideas..

At 7.30pm cone 8 was half down and Claude and I decided to start the salting – just as we were brought take-out Vietnamese bowls. Salting involved one person holding the angle-iron salt loader, a second quickly dipping a burrito in water (to keep the salt intact until it was right inside the kiln) and setting it on the loader and the third person opened a peep (a brick removed to reveal serious flame). Person one carefully inserts and turns the loader pipe to drop the salt in. We were all wearing masks but we do need to make sure we get correct filters for the next firing. Anyway we quickly withdrew indoors and watched the smoke and different colour flame in the chimney flue.

Just before the 3rd salting, when the air was clear again I withdrew a first witness ring. Dull finish. Thereafter I pulled a ring just before the salting and we began to accumulate a series which gradually began to look orange-peely.

I insisted in continuing with saltings, every 10 mins as time went on and cone 9 melted. Claude, Jin and I quickly made up more burritos. In the end, and as the MH fire department showed up to check on a reported fire, we did the last salting just before 10pm. 22 lbs! 11 rings. Kiln off at 10.30pm. Exhausted but so exhilarated!

I can hardly believe we’ve done the firing within 9 days of arriving in Medicine Hat.

Big thank-you to co-firer  Claude, burrito dipper Jin, Leigh and Brenda who couldn’t get home until we were finished and all the potters who helped make burritos and watched enthusiastically as we played with fire!