Yesterday we did a glaze firing in our gas kiln. Unloading a glaze firing is always a highlight for me. I love to see how the colors come out and to see all of our hard work pay off in a beautiful finished product. This firing went up to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit and takes a full 24 hours to reach that and then cool back down. Because I am too impatient to allow it to cool all the way, we usually open it at 375 degrees. This is OK to do and does not affect the glazes, but you do have to be careful when unloading at this temperature. The pieces are very hot! I wanted to share the experience with you, so below you will see a gallery of me unloading the kiln and the pieces as they come out.
Make sure to check back next week when we give you a picture preview of the upcoming Christmas show! You'll see some familiar art work on display.
The ornaments were fired in the electric kiln, as seen above.
In a bisque firing (or the first firing), the pieces can be stacked on top of each other.
The electric kiln was stacked full of shelves like this with piles and piles of ornaments.
If ornaments aren't given enough time to dry before firing,they will break in the kiln, as seen here.
Here, Lois is unloading the kiln by removing the shelves.They are very heavy!
Finally, the bottom of the kiln and the last of the ornaments to unload.
The ornaments are stacked according to their shape and put into boxes.They are now ready to paint!
First, the clay is rolled into large slabs.
Kathy and Lois have decided on a large variety of shapes!For that, they use cookie cutters.
The cookie cutters are placed on the slab of clay.They try to fit in as many as possible.
Here, Lois and Kathy are using straws to poke holes in each ornament.
Each ornament is then removed from the cookie cutter and placed on a tray.
Next, they are all stamped with the Jean Elton logo.
The ornaments need to remain flat until they are completely dry.Believe it or not, this is only a small fraction that have been made!
