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Just before Christmas we loaded the soda kiln at the Armory for the last firing of the year!  The stack was a little loose but Kara (Armory ceramics instructor, photographer, and ray of sunshine) had plenty of pots to help fill the space (above, right).  The photo above, left shows the addition of a skinny stack of 5″ x 24″ shelves in front of the two deep 12″ x 24″ shelves.  The skinny stack helps maximize stacking space in the kiln and leaves about three inches for circulation between the front and back kiln walls and the shelves.  There weren’t too many small pots for this kiln, but it will be a fun space to fill with mugs, tumblers, and cups for future firings.

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Above: The top cone pack and some of Kara’s pots (still too hot to unload) in the kiln.  Her raw stoneware surfaces turned out beautiful with the soda!

Ta-da!  Kara and the almost unloaded kiln …with some pots still too hot to unload.