A Little Story about the Cone Packs....

Cone Pack on Shelf in top front of Kiln.

So, I loaded the kiln yesterday and this morning with Gina.  It is now warming up and it is my hope to get early tomorrow and fire the kiln.  The goal is to beat the heat!!!  The weather is going to be hot (90 degrees or more), again.  The kiln shed will be much hotter to deal with...

Cone Pack that was in the last Kiln. 

The story about the cone packs and why there are three packs placed in each gas kiln.  They are cones 010, 1 and 5 for body reduction and copper reds (they are blue and two brown cones in the picture).  When these three cones melt they melt into the clay holder and disappear.  Cones 8, 9, 10 and 11 are  for final melting/temperature in the kiln (they are yellow, white, pink and blue).  These cones will curve over from the heat and it is my hope to have 10 down and 11 still standing which is what my glazes prefer.

Peep Hole - I watch the cone pack during the firing through this hole.

The cones are located in the bottom front, top front and bottom back. The cones are viewed through peep holes in my door that I brick up and in a hole from the back of the kiln.  I keep a brick in it when not viewing.

Brick in Peep Hole.

The kiln door is bricked up every time there is a firing.  The bricks are stacked within the kiln shed to stay dry when not being used.  The door is double bricked (two layers).

Bricks on the side of the shed.

Stay cool during our newest heat wave!

David        

Creature Love Letters....

Below you find two notes written to Lucy Frank to thank her for the Creatures (see blog entry below) from her friends.

“I adore my little magical fish-piggy, which has joined a certain woodpecker on my noise-making shelf. When I said I, too, collect folk instruments, what I really meant was that I collect noise making instruments. The noises they make isn't music, or is only sort-of music. So I have a train whistle, a slide whistle, a weird canister that makes sounds like thunder and bad weather, a gourd you blow into, a Chinese thing that whirls, and stuff too hard to describe. Thank you so much, Lucy, for adding to this odd but much prized collection.”


“I am looking right now at my funny little--hmmm--piggy-aardvark-sort-of-a-stegosaurus whistle (with the wonderful toes and googly eyes and wing-ears)--a stedvarkapig? Or is he more of a stedvarkapossum? I am crazy about him, anyhow, whatever he is--and I'm pretty sure he's a he, though I have no idea why. Please tell David what a hit ALL his work was. (The three apples are still lined up neatly on his beautiful little tray.Tres magnifique!)”

Lucy, thank you for sharing these wonderful notes with us. 
 
It is my hope that we (Gina and I) start to load the kiln today. 

David

Creatures & Pictures

Hello Everyone,


I have been busy working and trying to get my next kiln load glazed.  It is my hope to load the kiln with Gina this coming weekend.  I thought you might like to see some of the creatures that I made for Lucy (my sister-in-law).  These creatures are also whistles; yes, you blow through the nose.

In addition, while Katie was home we took pictures for the winter show postcard.  It is becoming that "season"!  Now, we cannot decide which picture to use.  Time will tell!


David 

Katie's Home and Helping Me in the Studio!

Yes, that is right...Katie is home and has been helping me in the studio.  She has sanded and waxed all of my pieces for me.  Here are few photos of her working away earlier today.  It has been wonderful to have her home and helping me out.  Thank you, Katie!

I have been working on making some new designs.  I have enjoyed learning how to make handles and want to add more shapes and sizes to the handles.  Today, I made a berry bowl (squared bowl with two triangle like things on the lip to add the handles) that will have a handle (see picture below).  In addition, I made a bucket with two pulled handles on each side.  It is my hope to add a handle to the two pulled handles (sorry, no picture of this piece).  

I'm working away...

David