Firing 75

Here are some pictures from the recent firing.  Blogger is acting funny on this web browser and I can't get them in order but here they are.  And a little teaser at the end...

Mark in the shadows after salting the right side.

Kiln cooling after the salting has been completed.  Mark cools the kiln rapidly to about 1600 degrees and then clams it all up.

Joseph pulling salt rings.

Salting

Mark clearing embers out the firebox.

Mark's 75th loading

I meant to post these pictures a while ago.  This past thursday and friday we fired the kiln and I've spent the weekend relaxing and getting my feet back on the ground after the madness of loading and firing.  There will be more pictures of the firing to follow as I get them off the camera.  Im using a new version of I photo and I haven't quite got the exporting down so the pictures below are probably huge if you click on them.  Ill figure it all out in the next little while.  This week is a little cleanup around the pottery while the kiln cools and then I'm off the Asheville for Thanksgiving with friends and then back on saturday to unload!  There should be a few good pots in the mix.  

Creepy Crawlies

This was the largest assemblage of creepy crawlies (that is the technical term for a multi species gathering) in Chatham County. They were found under one five gallon bucket in the stoking area of Marks new kiln.

Last night I had a dream I was glazing a board of pitchers. The first pitcher I picked up and glazed was to thin. It was like a ceramic egg shell dipped in a thick wet glaze that turned it to mush. The second pitcher I knocked over and it broke and the third and the fourth met an early demise. The last pitcher on the board was so off in shape it reminded me of a box of Raisinets you get at the movies and in a rage I hurled it into the wall. And then the board was empty.

I finished throwing on Wednesday. Since then we have just been picking our way down a long list of chores before we start firing around the 15th. There is glaze to mix and sieve, pots to decorate, bisque ware to glaze, wadding to mix up and roll and numerous others small tasks. All the wood is stacked, and the furniture is cleaned and washed.

Early days...

I got this idea from a post that Michael did a few days ago. The first mask was from the seventh grade. The second is a Raku mask I made in high school and lastly something I made at Guilford College under the watchful eye of Charlie Tefft. I had just come back from a trip down to Athens GA to see Ron Meyers. I haven't done a face in a long time.

A quote.

"One of the practical advantages of a rigid academic tyranny was that it fostered, in any individual strong enough to withstand it, a correspondingly powerful urge towards freedom and individuality." -

Hilary Spurling

I have been thinking about how this quote, (which relates to the formal training of a painter) relates to an apprenticeship or maybe academia but my sense is that the apprenticeship model relates more to how academia was in the 1890's and that art school now maybe fosters a bit more individuality. Then again I did not spend much time in an academic environment. Any ideas?

More pictures from the seaside....

I also got some pictures of this really sweet body surfer....

The Seaside....

The cycle is moving along. We have about 2 more weeks of throwing before we start packing the kiln in preparation for the fall firing. There are a lot of pots on the shelves and so the next week or so will probably be dedicated to small pots to fill in the spaces and more complicated, time consuming forms like teapots. When I throw a new form it takes me about a board to get to a place where I feel comfortable with the form. It is a slow, steady, and at times maddening process.

On some non pottery related news.... My friend George and I took a trip to the beach to do a little fishing. We caught a mess of blue fish and I had a nice flounder but I dropped it back into the ocean before I could get in the frying pan. Here are a few pictures from the trip...and one of some pottery for good measure. George is a very serious fisherman.....