VOCO

Vessel oriented ceramic objects, or pots depending on how up or down market you want to sound.  Still working out the kinks with the new camera.  So here are some of the latest attempts at photographing some of  pots from the fall burn.
Cheers,
~Make good pots
~Craig

There is a puddle of green glass in this bowl. This is from the bowl being filled with ash during the firing and then melting at the end of the firing. 

These two plates were from a stack of plates. The shino and ash had some good drama as they played with each other. 

This is a teabowl from the back of the kiln. It's made of a mid fire red clay and brushed with a slip. It has a nice warm feeling.

Taylor Made me do it

Here's some lidded jar's  I've heard that some call them Ginger Jars... I usually fill them with rice.
Make Good Pots
~Craig

Reality

Pictures of pots are always nice to post.  Especially if you've had a great firing. The reality of wood firing is a  lot of cutting, splitting and stacking wood. The chainsaw, wood splitter  and wheel barrow have been in my hands this week. It has been a race with winter. Winter has held off longer than usual, but it is not timid and will make an entrance any day now.
The saw mill had some good wood for me this year and was able to get all the wood I need for next years firing.  There are two kinds of wood, the slab wood, and edgings.
The edgings are the skinny pieces that we use for sidestoking at the end of the firing.
Well must go before winter sets in.
Make Good Pots,
~Craig

Copper Red Salt

Here is a small bowl that came out of the back chamber. It's made with Continental Clay's
B- Clay and salted at cone 10.  The copper red is better than I could get in gas firing.  Who knew?
Cheers,
Make Good Pots
~Craig

Two Tsubo and a Chawan made from a mid fire red clay.

Here are a couple of Tsubo's and a Chawan that were made out of a mid-fire red clay. They were fired to about cone 6-8.
They were lined with a cone 6 shino. The chawan has the shino on the inside

A couple three small bottles.

Here are a few small bottles out of the back of the fall firing. I got a new camera and still am getting comfortable with it.  Mike delivered nine more bundles of wood so it is another day of cutting and stacking. 

Some Yunomi

Here are a couple of Yunomi from the firing. These got some drama from the flyash.

I put some salt cups in and I think that this yunomi was sitting next to one. 

Well it's warmed up some so splitting wood is the order of the day.
Cheers,
Make Good Pots.

Pictures from the exhibition

Here are a couple of pics from the latest exhibition. We had the first snow storm of the winter for the reception, but lots of folks showed up and a good time was had by all.

Exhibition

It was a great fall firing, and the exhibition is up and it looks pretty good.  So if you are in the area stop on by and check it out.

~Craig

Little bowl fresh from firing

Here is a little bowl from the back of the kiln. The kiln is still about 300F, but I was able to reach in stoke hole 5 and pull it out.  It's been cooling for three days and we might be able to unload tomorrow.

Here is the mandatory flaming chimney picture.  They are always fun.
Cheers,
Make good pots,
Craig

Soaking at Cone 10

A couple of burning wood pics. The firing is going well, I think that it has to do with an excellent stoking crew. After so many years of working together, it go's like clockwork.
Right now we are soaking for awhile to get some good flyash builtup.

Make good pots!
~Craig

Starting the fall firing

The door is all bricked up and the small fire is started. It seems like a long journey to this point. The weather is perfect, and moral at base camp is high.

Morning thoughts

It is the morning, before the mind gets bombarded with the doings that make up days. The morning coffee is made.  Lynn is still sleeping. The pendulum on the clock is the only sound as it measures off time in a relaxed and gentle way. The clock was my great grand parents and has been in the family for over 100 years.  It has been  a constant and reliable companion every morning since childhood.  The dialog that it has with time, opens me up, to the endless possibilities of the day, a sure cure for the poverty of the imagination.
The work for the fall firing is starting. Now that the spring firing has been properly dealt with all thoughts are looking ahead to the fall.
Beginning at the beginning is always good ... mixing clay is what is in store for the day.
Here are some pics of tea bowls from the last firing.

Make good pots,
~Craig

Heron

In the morning as I type, a great blue heron quietly glides in and gently lands on the dock. The dock can be seen from the window, next to the computer, and is a place where ducks rest and herons fish. 

The heron takes his time to arrive.  There is a transition period  between, gliding in, to actually "being" on the dock.  Upon landing, he steps a bit to position himself properly, slightly flaps his wings, and preens his feathers to make sure that none of his feathers are ruffled. Then bobs his head several times with a rhythm that makes you want to swallow. Head bobbing on that long heron neck, is something that defines the essence of what a heron is.  Next he surveys the surroundings, and slightly repositions himself.  Finally he straightens his neck, and stands full. At this moment, he has arrived, and starts patiently staring into the pond for the next meal. All these movements look slightly awkward, but the heron does them in such an elegant way.  It takes time to be majestic. 

Cheers,

Make Good Pots,

~Craig

Cleaning up pots, kiln and all the rest

Another day is spent doing the final cleaning of pots from the spring firing.   The very good ones are all lined up waiting to be photographed. There is a surprisingly  quite a few excellent ones and some stunners in the group. Cleaning and sorting takes a moderate amount of time. Unlike pots from electric or gas kilns, a lot of after fire finish work is required on some of the pots. This is a still time, a time to spend with the results of the making and firing. This is a time to get reacquainted with the pots, after there long journey in the kiln firing. They tell stories of living in a river of flame, of being buried completely in coals, to reemerge and perhaps be buried again. These are stories that echo of a life lived and stories of survival. Some tell stories of being in the right place at the right time, while others tell of being destroyed by a piece of poorly stoked wood, some are bland and underfired. A tale of a life not lived.

 The kiln is all cleaned of ash, a room waiting for some new arrivals.     The shelves are cleaned and washed with a fresh coat  of kiln wash, they remind me of new sheets on a bed, so clean and pristine.  Time to quit writing and get some rest.

Cheers,
Make Good Pots
~Craig