Firing and Pyrometric cones

Just finished 11 hours firing. There were not much wind today. When firing the kiln, we use the pyrometric cones as one of the guide. Cones measure the maturity of the glaze by time and temperature. If you fire quickly and reach the target temperature, the glaze sometime is not matured as desired. It is…

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Glaze firing is Go.

The yard is covered with snow. About 3 inches. Very pretty. Plates are finally glazed and loaded into the kiln. Glazed for two days, and all loaded. Wind affects the firing greatly, and I decide the firing depending on the forecast wind. Weather looks good tomorrow. Glaze firing is “go”.

Snowing

Snowing at hard over the yard. Second bisque done. All plates and others are ready to be glaze for next two days. Glaze firing on Thursday depending on the wind.

Tea stalk

Some of my teapot has built-in strainer, which has about 50 holes, and I have been asked about the loose tea with the teapot in the past. Today, I bought the finest (smallest) loose leaf tea, Ceylon Fannings, which is shredded Ceylon tea. I heard that this Ceylon tea is enjoyed with lots of milk…

Reclaiming clay

After trimming, clay is recycled to use. Here is how I do. I collect scrap clay from trimming into a plastic bag the clay and let it dry out . Then, I filled the bag with water, soak well. Then I pour it over the plaster table for drying. One day per one side. I…

Studio

This is my studio overlooking CSX yard. I enjoy watching these colorful and different freight trains while throwing the clay. The yard was very busy this summer until last month. It seems the number of freight cars have been dramatically down since October. Sign of the economy, maybe. The studio is located in Hungerford building,…

Trimming

It’s trimming time. It has been four days since I wrapped these plates under the plastic. I use the combination of the chuck and the grips for bowls and plates. Centering and securing the chuck is done faster with the griffin grips. Chuck is useful for irregular shape and trimming soft greenware. I use the…

Dinner Plates

Throwing dinner plates today. Four pounds of clay stretches to 12.5” wide plates. It will shrink to 10.5” after the glaze firing. I spend some time to compress the center of plates using the wood and metal ribs to prevent a center of plate from heaving as it dries. I like the plates with notches…

Happy Halloween !

Happy Halloween! This is my first jump into the blog-thing. Almost 20 years ago Halloween day, I got engaged , which lead to settle in US as a potter. Halloween, I do not get the idea fully. I have never experienced the trick&treating myself as a child. I made many custumes for my daughter and…