Alan and I have just returned from ten days in Guatemala. It was a fascinating tour, with a hike around Tikal Mayan temples, admiring textiles in Antigua and a boat ride on Lake Atitlan amongst the volcanoes. But in the back of my mind was the fact that I had to miss the opening of the kiln we’d fired just before we left. Herman, Dave, Ted, Cathi, Nora and Jana will have unloaded on the day we climbed the Tikal pyramids! Thank you Jana, for packing up my 24 pots and taking them in to Vancouver. Son Michael picked them up for me and emailed me a couple of pics so I knew that the firing had been successful!

https://picasaweb.google.com/112208740085943894765/My3rdVenemaSaltFiring

Now I’ve had a chance to see them all. Al has taken some photos and I’ve put the main pieces in a little Picasa album. I’d like to have a chat with the others and see what they thought of their results. I hope they’re happy. It was a surprise when we found that the first draw-ring already had orange peel after twelve lbs of salt. We added two more lbs after that and then agreed to clear the atmosphere for half an hour and then turn off the burners. It was the right decision. Just one or two of my pieces have too much glaze, causing the blue to run, but I’m pretty sure they were the ones placed on the bag wall. So I won’t do that again. Also I see that the titanium dioxide that usually produces pretty green areas when sprayed over blue slip, didn’t do that much this time. Any ideas why not?

Mainly I’m very happy with the results. It’s an ever fascinating process and I do enjoy the collaborative days spent with other salt enthusiasts. Again, thanks to you all and let’s plan another firing later in the Spring.