Tuesday, August 17, 2010

the bisque kiln is LOADED!

i have read lots of blogs and facebook posts about bisque firing this week, so i figured i should do the same!  this is the first bisque firing for us since moving to seagrove.  we couldn't fit all of our pots in so i am sure we will be doing another one very soon.
our shelves and posts were still on the bus so those had to be unloaded today as well.  we try to make use of as much space in the kiln as possible... saves on electricity and hopefully the environment as well.  we are careful about stacking... making sure that pots inside other pots are sitting level and bowls of like sizes are stacked rim to rim.  as bisque firing goes, this was sort of loose for us - we had to work with the sizes of the pots we had.  we load starting from the floor ( our kiln is outside under cover) and load to the very top.  we don't use cones in the bisque... only the pyrometer.  we fire to about 1875, always turning the kiln off before 1900.  i can't remember ever losing anything in a bisque firing so this method works for us!




as you can see the cover will JUST close :o)

after we finished loading we got some more yard work done (see earlier post) and jeff installed a gutter over the entrance to the wrap around porch.  when i came out to the porch with my computer i said that i smelled smoke... his reply was that someone nearby was firing a wood kiln tonight... being the pyromaniac that he is, he hopped in the truck to go and find it...

4 comments:

  1. Nice load, and those are on the floor of the kiln, amazing I had never heard of that till you mentioned, thanks for showing your kiln.

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  2. that stick is a very important piece of equipment... no ceramic studio should be without one. i think jeffy and i should start marketing them.

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  3. I've always loaded bique firings directly on the floor...i do stilt a shelf 1 inch off the floor for glaze firings.

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