Friday we loaded the groundhog kiln at the NC Pottery Center. David Garner from Turn & Burn Pottery offered to help us load and fire the kiln. Extra hands made the job easier and also allowed me to keep the gallery open for most of the day.

Can't wait to see how this big pot of Jeff's turns out!

 I was glad that my job consisted of wadding pots and handing them to Jeff to load. The kiln is tight quarters and I am a little claustrophobic.

Time to light the fire! We pre-heated overnight. David lives next door to the kiln so he did the late night.

David poured salt through the peeps on top of the kiln. He had lots of jugs in the back that he wanted to get hit with the salt directly. We kept our pots towards the front and salted through the stoke hole. We wanted our pots to get more of a fume than a direct hit.

The kiln fired in about 9 hours, which we found amazing since our little gas kiln sometimes takes longer! The plan is to unload Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. 

New pots in time for our 1 year in Seagrove, anniversary event! Along with the new pots we will have refreshments and door prizes.  The gallery is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm both Saturday and Sunday (July 9th & 10th). Saturday night at 6:00 we are hosting a party for potters and friends to celebrate with us... if you are in the area please come and stay for the party!