Kiln works! Cone 6!

First crack of the lid this morning!

Well, that anxiety trip is over. (I should qualify that and wait until the electric bill arrives) My first glaze firing is done and it was successful. For the most part. I hit cone 6 but just. The glazes all fluxed but I think they could have done with a longer soak so I think next time, I'll adjust the cone in the slot to get a harder firing. The witness cones at top and bottom fired pretty evenly and cone 6 is over but just, just half way and cone 7 didn't even budge. I'd like to see cone 6 more committed and cone 7 just about tipping. But everything looks good. I did a whole bunch of different glazes, a bit like a kiln load of test tiles on functional work, just to try out ideas, color combos and re-acquaint myself with the glazes I have on hand.

Drinking cups ready to be listed!

     One thing I tried out this time were some underglazes in a range of colors just to get the feel of using them and seeing what my brush technique looks like. I also included some test tiles of slips with a clear overglaze for reference. Next up will be combos and eventually I think I'll settle on some ones that I enjoy. I did test a tile of slip from the ground in the horses pasture. I call it Sand Hill slip. Straight out of the ground, mixed with water and sieved, it comes out this deep brown semi-gloss. But strangely, when I applied a clear overglaze, the overglaze stripped the color out of the slip leaving almost an antique look. I think I may have to experiment with this a bit more!

Underglaze fun

     I played around with dotting and swirling the inside of the pots for fun. I think more for me than anything else.

Swirls and dots, ice cream and coffee!

     Tomorrow I'm out of the studio running some errands but by the evening, I'll be back working on glazing the sugar and creamer pots and starting on some tea pots. My latest sculpture is finished and drying for the kiln. Friday will be photo day and the Etsy listing will begin! It's about time!