During 2022 I’ve been following the news about firings in the Potters’ Guild of BC gas kiln. Funding was secured and the current board purchased a big Bailey kiln from Emily Carr U. Thanks to the enthusiastic manager of the Mergatroid Artists Studio building, Morley Faber, it has now been installed on a levelled, covered concrete pad next to the building. Technicians have been trained, glazes mixed and several firings have happened. I’m easily distracted.. this year I’ve gone down a ‘native clay’ rabbit hole, explored sgraffito, made some whistles and now, (why not?) I decided to register for two cubic feet of space in the last firing of 2022. I felt that $25 per cu ft was worth the fun I’d have.
Six glazes have been selected for use by participants, but it has been agreed that PGBC members would be trusted to use some of their own glazes too. Fun! I found an old bucket of David Leach celadon that I must have mixed up 30 years ago. I added water and sieved it. My old black temmoku was gone but there was a small bucket of a copper red I’d used in the past. Apart from renting the Shadbolt top-hat kiln to fire a batch of plates and bowls for Steve and Jen’s wedding sixteen years ago, I hadn’t fired anything in a Cone 10 Reduction gas firing since having my own gas kiln in my back yard. I sold it thirty years ago when I switched to earthenware and didn’t like paying $25 a month to retain the natural gas line.
My adventures in salt and soda firing require that I use Cone 10 stoneware clay so I had suitable clay on hand, and after the last soda firing I threw these 14 pots to use as tests of the glazes available for the Mergatroid kiln. I was curious to see whether my earthenware slips would be useful here so coated part of a bowl with blue slip and enjoyed making a sgraffito pattern there. On a plate (we are discouraged from bringing plates to the soda firings) I painted a pattern with my blue and green slips.
The weather has turned very cold and Alan and I have been enduring another bout of bronchitis so I was anxious to have as much of my glazing done ahead of time as possible. Glazing has to take place outside, next to the kiln. So quite a few of my pieces wound up with the old DL celadon glaze. I’m glad. Here is a vase with sgraffito’d oak tree and, just because, another Batterham-style tea caddy. You’ll see that for each pot I’ve made a collage so that you can see more than one view of the piece.
I think this grooved lidded jar is my favourite piece from this firing. I’m addicted to the carving of a leather-hard form, and watching how the parallel lines make a predictable but pleasing design. Making a well-fitted surprise lid is part of the game. I showed a little video on instagram of the process and asked for glazing suggestions, ie temmoku, shino, white or celadon? Celadon won!
I used the mugs as tests for glazes. They show my celadon, the guild’s celadon, their chun and for that wild red one I dipped the mug in a little of the copper red glaze I had reconstituted from all those years ago. The inside and lower half are my celadon. I find that the guild celadon and chun look very alike and are shinier than mine. The celadon with red worked well and the glitz is beckoning! Let me know if you’d like to give a home to one of these sturdy retro-glazed mugs.
I was most interested to see how the guild’s shino turned out. The one I use to line soda-destined pots is reliable but not exciting. I’d seen some fascinating colours on pots glazed in the Malcolm Davis shino so opted for it on the yunomi above (with occasional David Robinson-recommended brush strokes of celadon). I’m pleased.
I painted blue earthenware slip on this jugbird’s bill. In soda this usually melts but here it has remained matt. The contrast with luscious MD shino on the body is good. I love the iridescence and variety in that glaze.
For the last three pots I chose to use the guild’s temmoku. I’d forgotten that for it to be really black you have to apply a thick layer of glaze. These pieces are more dark red/brown with black in the texture but others that I saw were black where the glaze was double-dipped. ..next time. My second jugbird has an orange earthenware bill so he’s quite striking.
Writing this descriptive blog is really just my way of studying my results carefully. I hope it might prove useful for others planning to take advantage of this locally available gas kiln and the guild’s glazes and technicians. My two brief visits to the location allowed me the rare chance to chat with like-minded ceramics souls: Heather Lippold, Amelia Butcher, David Robinson, fellow participant Sarah Coote, and Mary and Ursula and others. Thank you for giving me a chance to revisit cone 10R.
Great description of your experience at the PGBC community gas kiln Gillian! Love the documentaion and the way your Shino jugbird turned out, I also love laying the celedon and chun on my Shino koi and the results have been luscious in my humble opinion. Thank you for sharing!
Has anyone claimed your copper red test glaze mug, it reminds me of a shiny candy apple! I’ll be in your neighborhood dropping off my koi at the grit gallery sometime in January 🙂 Merry Christmas!
Beautiful work! Well done Gillian.
Diane, I’ll put the red glaze mug aside for you. Thank you.
Gillian, you have some beautiful firing results. Thank you for sharing and hosting the Tri City Potters Christmas party.
Thank you Kay. We missed you at the party, but did enjoy the punch you contributed.