Catching up..and Wood-Fire at Watershed.

Its been a couple of weeks since my last entry and a few things to report now.

 I glazed a kiln load of earthenware that I had fired a Portland Pottery early this spring.

 And finally hooked up the envirovent..which was really easy, just had to hand-drill a few holes in the bottom and top of the kiln. The fan will exhaust any fumes from the firing up the chimney flue.

 The results...mostly fine but some bubbles in the glaze on some pieces..I may re-fire some.

 Some vessels in the wood fire clay body.

 Early last week I tried to throw as many large pots as I could...looking for flower pots!

 The next images were taken at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, Maine. I joined a group of potters to fire the large wood fired kiln they have built under canopy of the new addition at their facility. 

 We gathered our bisque ware along side the kiln in preparation for loading.

 Tyler Gulden (in green) outlines the loading strategy...

 Wadding keeps the work from sticking to the kiln shelves.

 Dan kindling the campfire...a small fire begun outside the kiln to start the draft and a bed of coals...we fed this fire all night slowly moving caols into the fire box.

 An older catenary arch kiln nearby.

 The 'Train' kiln.

 A soda/salt gas fired kiln kindling off a winters worth of moisture.

 I took a bike ride down to Pemaquid Point before my second graveyard shift...Arr.

 Side stoking.

 After two nearly two days of constant wood burning we dampered down and sealed up the kiln in an attempt to starve the fire from oxygen putting the kiln into what is called 'reduction' while it cooled down from around 2200 deg. f to about 1625 deg. f.  This alchemical process promotes retention of colors outside of the normal range one would expect in an oxidized fire environment especially where elemental Iron is concerned. It will be a week before we see if we got it right.

 Flames licking around the closed damper

 Tyler feeding the reduction fire with wet sticks to slow the cooling process and promoting a slow reduction cool. The wood will smolder and attact any free oxygen away from the pots and to the combusting wood.

We open the kiln Saturday..after a week-long cool down.