Sunday, September 23, 2012

Firing First Peek!



Lots of good color in this load! Like all firings, it had its high and low points:

Good news - really nice colors, especially the shinos and yellows. Most of the cobalts turned a lovely violet color.
Bad news - A few pieces from this firing were older bisqueware, made of a claybody that has had some technical trouble. Laguna's 910 body has on and of lately had some problems with cracking for no apparent reason. A pot can be just sitting on a shelf, minding its own business, and all of a sudden just - snap - split in two. According to my friends at Portland Pottery, this problem is now resolved, but I've heard that a couple of times before, and I ain't going near 910 anytime in the near future. The silver lining, such as it is, is that the bad clay is easily identifiable after it comes out of the glazes firing, but its mottled, yellow-orange coloration on the bottom. They don't all break, but since I never know when one might, I really can't sell them.
Good news, and this is a wonder - None of the pieces that I needed for orders were made of the bad batch of clay.
I'll have some photos of individual pieces later. Now it's time for the long process of grinding and buffing, sorting pricing and packing.

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