Finally some good news. This firing went so well and I am so thankful. Nothing cracked, fell apart or melted!
A few things that helped:
- I flipped my clay when centering to ensure even compression in the tumblers.
- I purchased a greenhouse to use as a wet cabinet, allowing my work to dry much more slowly.
- I put the little hearts on the bottom shelf. This tends to be the most volatile and dangerous area. I figure the hearts are simply little pinch pots and can handle that sort of attention.
I am recognizing that my kiln is not going to make delicately, pristinely fired work. It is a raku kiln after all!
Work that is closer to the propane side tends to get over-fired, so I think I will just leave that area empty from now on.
I used Coyote glazes for the tumblers and will be sure to put on a third or even fourth layer to get better coverage. The snowflake white is the glaze around the top of the tumblers. I don’t think I mixed it properly when I made it and find that the coverage is lacking. I may just brush it on from now on. Or I suppose I can make another batch.
The planters are just beautiful and I’m thrilled with how they turned out. They are painted in underglaze, then dipped in the SG-157 clear glaze.
