quick clay update!

The weather is gorgeous. It's spring. My knitting inspiration is fading slightly (even though I just bought about 9 oz of roving this week), but all my other artistic inspirations are abounding. I'm considering buying a dyeing starter kit and experimenting with that (or I may try the cheap Kool Aid method... no shame in that), and most excitingly, I've been throwing some pots and attempting to fire them.

Ever since The Purple Crayon shut down and I inherited a wheel and a non-functional kiln, the studio in the barn has been set up. Then last spring we got an awesome deal on a WORKING kiln via craig's list... I've just been waiting for the weather to warm up enough so it's comfortable being out in the door-less barn for hours at a time.

Yesterday I threw a couple pots and did a test bisque fire. It definitely worked (the bowl I had in there is bisqued), but the cone never bent, so I guess I either used the wrong cone (05), or I opened the lid too many times and messed things up... I have no idea. I don't know how to use the kiln-sitter, and I think I'll just end up buying a pyrometer to make my life easier. Also, we don't have any kiln shelves (or at least none that I can find), so I can only fire things on the very bottom and I feel like I'm wasting a ton of electricity on just a few pieces.

So I'm going to glaze my newly-bisqued bowl after classes today and see if I can finagle the temp to do a proper glaze fire. Stay tuned.