Earth, Water a Few Kilowatts and Lots of Smoke........

....later, and I am still waiting for the results of my first smoke firing. As I type the kiln is cooling down and I'm  thinking back at what attracted me to try this method of firing.  It must be the seemingly easy method, the ease of obtaining combustibles, (sawdust and also seaweed in this case) and the simplicity of the kiln itself. Secondly it is striving to make an attractive piece without glazing the ceramic.  So what should I expect?  The literature mentions shades of black, grey and brown predominantly.  I just hope that the piece inside will come out intact.  Here s a close up of the ware in the kiln before closing.

 


Some results of my smoked works can be viewed on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=288199261236033&set=a.251698028219490.66840.242399795815980&type=1&theater

2012. A New Start?

Not as far as keeping an organised workspace goes!  So much for the freshly painted walls and shelving.  The studio looked nice and new for 1 week.  The paint barely had time to dry.  Now the place looks like a rogue wave retreated and left a whole lot of stuff behind.  Actually one may believe this as the floor is strewn with seaweed left out to dry and bags upon bags of sawdust.  (I must say that the mixture of smells in the air from the weed and the sawdust are interesting.)  There is an explanation to all this however.  I ve decided to forget glazing for my second firings and experiment with sawdust firing and other combustibles (this is where the seaweed comes in).  I am also working on some new ideas when it comes to ceramics, and this includes not only having people appreciated a ceramic piece for its shape, texture or colour.  The intention is to allow one to interact with the piece by changing its conformation after firing amongst other things.  Will this be a success?  That is another story, which only time will tell.