Ups and Downs, Truly Experiencing the Rollercoaster

This past week has been filled with many lows and just as many highs.

The soda firing on Monday did not go that well. I over fired the kiln to cone 7. I assumed incorrectly that the Kentucky Mudworks Brown Bear clay body was a cone 5-7 body. However, it is advertised as 5-6 (I was unaware and did not look it up before hand) and after this firing, I have confirmed that…maybe even go to say that its a hard 5 and a soft 6. Sarah and I commiserated over some pot smashing. We hope to reattempt a residual firing in May. Current thoughts on that are to fire to a cone 5 and spray in a light amount of soda (~ 1 lb).

Throughout the week I tried my hand at some brush work. Brush work is not easy and it very time consuming. Interested in seeing the results to see if I want to keep pursuing it.

Lastly, we loaded up the wood kiln! It was packed full and tight. Many little experiments were happening throughout the load. Shells were flying along with Newman wadding and even a dead bird was thrown in for good luck. The bird was still very much decaying and off gassing, so for the later half of the load I wore my respirator mask. But, even with the mask, I could start smelling the bird again near the end…left quite a sour taste on the tongue.

Here’s to a good wood fire and an excellent week a head.