First Summer 2017 Firing

close up of pitcher plant pieces out of the kiln

This week was the first week off from school and I fired my first kiln load of the summer. I thought I was ahead of schedule, but then I went back and looked at last year and discovered I'd fired a glaze load in May and work for a commission by June 23. However, that old kiln was smaller than my new Skutt.

my worktable during the under-glazing process

Last summer, what with the Rotary commission and the functional work for Boxx Gallery and the Art on the Wall piece, I didn't finish any sculpture last summer. It was pretty disappointing, so this year I vowed to avoid the functional, avoid the commissions, and focus on finishing some work.

view inside the (dark) kiln while unloading

The kiln I unloaded last night has some work that's on its second of three (or third of four, in once case) firing for underglaze. I also have some work that are essentially done with firing, but have non-ceramic elements that need to be added.

second of three underglaze layers for this piece

I haven't wholly determined whether the blue and yellow pitcher plant forms are done as they are or will have a matte glaze added over the blue. Either way, the plan is to attach them together in one larger structure which may require some serious work now that they are built. I've got a plan, but that plan requires me to work in a way I haven't worked previously. Stay tuned.

pitcher plants finished?

New Kiln!

new kiln, just delivered, still in its box!

I finally have a new kiln! I haven't previously paid more than a few bucks or gas to pick it up before for an electric kiln for my home.  One major disadvantage of a small kiln is that large work doesn't necessarily fit and small work has to be divided into small loads.

the complex packing of the new kiln

In about 2013 I decided I needed a new kiln and planned to use my Parker Award money to buy one, but then, on sabbatical, I started building sculpture in pieces and the need became less pressing.

the catalyst for the new kiln

However, this year, I started building sculpture without sparing even a though for my kiln size and I ended up with two pieces that wouldn't fit in my existing kilns. So my husband helped me negotiate a space in the garage and I ordered my "first" real kiln that allows me to make what I want.

last firing in the old kiln

I've been firing quite a bit this summer, since I've been doing so much commission work and so many small pieces. This weekend I unloaded my (probably) last firing from my small, old, used, donated kiln and loaded work into the new Skutt.

new kiln, plugged in and ready to go

I was able to fit both the too-large sculptures, as well as a whole shelf of other work, into the kiln for one firing. The kiln I bought is one of the Kiln Master series, rather than a Kiln Sitter series. Before this year at the new YVC studio, I've used mostly kiln sitters at home and at work. Kiln sitters require hourly manual turn-ups and therefore make it difficult to leave the kiln unattended for more than an hour at a time.

the packing foam around the kiln looks funny

I can still hear my first ceramics professor, in my head, telling me never to leave a kiln unattended and never to trust a sitter, timer, or automatic shut off, but I must say that the freedom to run more than one errand while the kiln is firing is pretty nice.

new work, waiting for glaze

My summer work time is sadly running out, but I have one last batch of sculpture that I hope to finish building and a whole assortment of functional work I hope to glaze and fire before the end of August. Someday, I might even glaze and finish the few sculptures I built this summer.