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I think I’ve lost count of the number of soda kiln firings now, but this one filled with work from the students at the the Armory was as beautiful as many of the recent past. And the top cone pack let out this drip of a m a z i n g all the way down the brick it was perched on.
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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.
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These two bricks were part of the bag-wall of the soda kiln at the Armory. The kiln’s north bag-wall had started to shift and lean toward the wall of the kiln through recent firings, and during firing no. 7 they had finally moved enough to fall into the firebox during the firing. (I was trying to wait a few more firings and for the Holiday break to work on it, but… and it wasn’t major at all and was very easily repaired!)
The bricks became fused together in the direct path of the flame and the soda solution spray… add the heat and accumulation of soda from many previous firings (as part of the kiln’s interior) and the form, texture, color, and surface changes into something rather amazing.
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(soda kiln stack no. 2)
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(pots loaded and waiting in the kiln… and starting to unbrick the firing with Ms. Bethany Krull)
(No.2 stack, post firing)
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(a drawing found in the youth area at the Armory.)
(No.3 loaded and ready to go…)
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(above: pots loaded and ready to fire, below: spraying in a solution of soda ash & borax)
(No.3, the fired stack)
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See more pots from the last two firings in “portfolio” or click here…
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!
As the first of many Michigan snowflakes began to fall today, I was reminded of my blogging delinquency. At the end of July, I packed up my stationwagon and headed to Farmington Hills, Michigan to begin a year+ long artist residency at Plum Tree Pottery. The last four months have been a great adventure… I have included a few of the best captured snippets below.
(above: Weko Beach in Bridgman, Michigan… one of the last sunsets spent at the beach after spending two weeks at home in the southwest corner of Michigan pretending to be on vacation visiting with friends and family.)
(The entrance to my new nesting grounds in Farmington Hills… the Flamingo Motor Home Court. The rent is cheap, neighbors are friendly, laundry room is close to my trailer, and the park is nice and quiet.)
(My new nest! My very own trailer to call home… it is spacious enough without letting me collect too much junk! It came with my very own mailbox and astro-turfed porch.)
(At work during the first month at the studio… attaching a handle to cup to practice “pulling” handles. I am finally in the 100 handle club, I can’t believe it took me this long!)
(Soldner power wheel which has been modified to accommodate throwing while standing up. Learning to throw while standing seemed awkward at first, but now it seems normal. I don’t understand why I didn’t take the hint and start sooner… it makes so much sense.)
(A detail shot of ware shelves and bisqued ware for the first few glaze firings at the studio. John added the “Big Bird” sign for my arrival after a tip off about a nick-name. Thanks a lot Steve.)
On the third Saturday in August we ventured to the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise. It was, by far, the biggest car show I have ever seen. In true Motor City style, there were reports of more than 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, custom, collector and special interest vehicles. The street was lined with people for miles and I have never seen so many cars in one place! The week before the huge event I saw many eye catching rides just cruising around the area.
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(This guy was cruising on his tricycle down the sidewalk at the Dream Cruise.)
(We saw all sorts of vehicles… Some parked in small car shows in random parking lots and others cruising up and down Woodward Avene. You name the make and model, and we probably saw it that day. From huge modified monster trucks to tiny cars with one seat and three wheels.)
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Peeking in our first soda/salt kiln firing. The atmospheric kiln was a treat to fire after two gas reduction kilns. The results were amazing and unlike any other kiln I have ever unloaded!
The fired stack…
A group of my porcelain tumblers from the soda and salt firing…
More of my tumblers from the firing. John’s collection of glazes are as amazing in the soda/salt kiln as the reduction kiln!)
On September 28th we ventured to downtown Detroit to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden speak! It was amazing to see them in person…the energy in the crowd was wonderful and inspiring.
Back to a wet working phase in the studio… I started to focus on cups, mugs, bowls, and plates for an upcoming studio event, scheduled for the day after Thanksgiving.
…lots of bowls of all different sizes for all different uses
…a set of ten square-ish plates waiting to be trimmed. These plates have now been bisqued and glazed and are ready to load into a gas reduction firing tomorrow morning!
post graduation). Trolling through my photo library early this morning I found photos from the last events of the semester, indicative of the end. Sans studio, I am still working on correcting my messed up sleep schedule and reflecting on it all (being over). I am just about over my “chill-laxin” phase and realized, while at work today, that I have an itch to make some pots. So until then… I’ll keep posting about my latest creative endeavors.
[The joy of the last cup glazed for the firing (and the last piece glazed at KCAI)…one of the many lasts that were commemorated. Thanks for reminding and helping me to take a photo Tara!]
[Salt Kiln packed with pots for the last firing of the semester]
[Salt Kiln stacks, post-firing. The right wall of the saggar box on the right collapsed sometime after the first salting, causing the front two stacks of shelves to rest against the wall.]
[All of the pots on the top two shelves were ‘kissing’ each other. Most of the vessels separated with a gentle nudge or tap. My two large double lidded jars toward the back of the kiln were good and fused, but we unloaded everything out without a major incident. Using a wooden wedge and rubber mallet I coaxed the jars apart, after pulling the babies out of the kiln like Siamese twins during a c-section.]
[It was pretty amazing to see what happened in the kiln as the stack shifted. Considering the potential of disaster, it all worked out in the end. Overall the semester was about failure for me and was, perhaps, the most educational of all my semesters. Maybe it was not the best way to end, but, it was the ending. And the completion of this four-year experience is not THE end anyways, it is more like a beginning.]
[This picture is a classic ceramics department group photograph taken annually on the last day of clean-up. It is specifically posted for Bryan, who talked about this particular moment all semester. Referencing last year’s photo… it is the day when it seems like everything suddenly turns a vibrant green overnight, particularly that tree in the background which always looks so dead during the year. The morning sun intensifies the moment as it creeps onto Warwick. Another year has past]
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[to view larger versions of the images above: just click the photos, you may have to give it an additional click once the photo opens by itself in the window.]
Sunday, April 6, we fired off the salt kiln…
Over Thanksgiving Break we arranged a Community Salt Firing and invited students from the ceramics and sculpture departments to put work in the kiln and help with the firing. It was a great opportunity to work with our peers over the break, give thanks for our clay community, and have fun!
…. Many hands made lighter work.
(My set of six double lidded jars: ready for grolleg terra sig and some salt firing)
(We bricked the door in record time)
(and spray painted the peeps and salt ports G-Timock Style)
(paper-clay door)
(burners on)
(the crack in the side of the arch)
(Gabriel & Bowie bait the kiln…)
(I fished out the draw rings post salting)
(Cooling:—-> The paper clay door post firing)
(detail of paper clay door, post firing)
(the crowd checks out the results)
(the fired stack)
On Friday Nathan invited me to put some pieces in a salt firing taking place in sculpture. The kiln was loaded and the door was bricked up on Friday, it candled overnight. The firing started on Saturday. By Saturday around 10pm the kiln had reached salting temperature. To salt the kiln, we organized two people loading the angle iron with salt as two others introduced salt to the kiln via the angle iron through ports on the front of the kiln door. 18 pounds of salt (below) was introduced in two rounds. The photo above is the kiln just after the first round of salting. It was a beautiful night to be outside with the kiln firing! With trees rustling in the breeze, angle iron & intense heat, I was reminded of the wood firings in Hungary at the International Ceramics Studio.
Sunday brought lots of anticipation as we awaited the opening of the kiln. Nathan and I checked out the Plaza Art Fair and distracted ourselves with the free wireless in the Plaza, waiting to crack the kiln. The first peek inside (below) was exciting, but it was waaaay too hot to un-brick any further.
Gabe, Nathan and I headed back over to the kiln a little over an hour later. The kiln was un-bricked and we finally got a good look at all of the work. The contents of the saggar box at the bottom of the kiln remained a mystery.
18 pounds of salt and a cone 11 down (it was the last one in the pack) provided some pretty amazing results. Homeboys were excited with their results, my pots were in the very back, out of view.
As the kiln was unloaded I got a better view of my vases that were in the firing. I had dipped one of my vases (back left in above photo) in a grolleg terra sigilatta, it turned out to be the best of the flashing slip options I tested in this firing. Grolleg TS surface is silky and smooth, I love it in salt or soda firing.
The saggar box ended up reaching a much higher temperature than they guys expected. All the cones in the pack located in the saggar box were flat and melted (11 was the last cone). Although some of their pieces were fused to the floor, a lot of them survived and are amazing. Check out Gabe and Nathan‘s blogs for more pictures of the firing!
Here is a kiln shot of the second firing of the semester.
I wanted to test the use of a black underglaze under a grolleg terra sigilatta on the different clay bodies that I am currently using. I am satisfied with some of the results, especially the cup at the bottom of this photo.
A few of the pots I am not satisfied with, the glaze over took the images; Clyde or Morty, the sandblasting guns, may have some work lined up for them. Plus, I think it is time to move away from these drawings, as much as I love them.
Gabe had a tile and some chopstick holders on the top shelf that turned out really nice. The tile bloated in a couple of spots which creates a nice break in the repetition of stripes.
On September 6, I fired a cone 10 soda kiln with a neutral atmosphere. It was primarily so I could get some glaze and clay body test results. Julie helped me during the firing so she could learn about firing Badda Bing, and she got some great soda texture on her porcelain cups. We added one pound of soda ash to the kiln through a garden sprayer.
Results of my clay body tests, (l to r) red stoneware, dark brown, and stoneware with yellow ochre addition. I am happy with these results, especially the YO Stoneware in the soda.
Below are some glaze tests from this firing. They are on a different red stoneware body than the one I tested above. These three turned out the best, yellow and lavender have some potential.
Tyra Forker 