Last week (September 23rd) we loaded the soda kiln at the Armory Art Center full of student work, resident artist work, and some tests.  It was my first time firing the soda kiln here and I was pretty amazed with how many pots it gobbled up, having started off thinking that we might not have enough to fill it.  ha!

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Glazed flower arranger and a plate diptych ready for loading… I love the characteristics of raw glaze on pots.  Sometimes it is more interesting than after they have been fired.

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They were making fun of my business-professional apron! ha! Spraying the soda solution into the kiln when cone 9 was very soft… we introduced 4lbs of soda ash and 2 lbs of baking soda with hot water into the kiln in two 15 minute rounds.

Stephanie Steufer, fellow ceramics Artist in Residence at the Armory, spraying in soda solution.  Team Red Head was super efficient pumping in the soda solution… we rotated in and out of spraying position every few minutes to get a break from the heat.  The sprayer made the whole event pretty exciting…it is hooks up to compressed air and and feeds solution from a hanging 5 gallon bucket.  (It was as fun as it sounds, and really effective!)

A M A Z I N G.  This is way better than the old garden sprayer method, there is no clogging, no fussing, no melted tips, no pumping… (After using this I never want to use a garden sprayer again!)

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Curious toads hang out in cat bowls outside the dry cleaner’s down the street from the Armory every night like clockwork!  We stopped by to say hello post firing.

The front view of the fired stack…

Overall, it was a good firing and am I looking forward to becoming good friends with the kiln…

Some new jars…

Little rocks glasses fired in the front of the stack…

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My latest endeavor… rectangular serving dishes (destined for the next soda firing).  Today I started a series of small serving dishes (oval and almond shaped), some more small cups, small bowls, and sundae dishes… Trying to finish a lot of small pieces so I can fire the kiln again sometime late next week… we’ll see what happens!