Two days later, still hot

Fired the kiln on Wednesday. It was near record heat of 89°F. The temperature at further from the kiln in the studio was as high as 104°F. I really did not want to know the temperature near the kiln. The sweat just kept coming standing next to it. It was getting toasty after 6PM, and continued to the end of the firing at 10:30pm. So,my plan of firing later backfired. I wish I have a separate kiln room. My daughter will start her collage at the NYU Abu Dhabi in UAE in September. Tomorrow's forecast for Abu Dhabi is 107°F. I should not be complaining... How does she manage that? That would be very interesting.

I opened the kiln today. The kiln has still retained its heat this moring, and the studio was over 94°F while outside was upper seventies. The kiln god difinately smiles at me on this firing. There are no oxidation or crawling except one piece. This is the best firing-ever at this studio!



I will be exhibiting the following shows in June, the Three Rivers Arts Festival on June 4 to 6, and the Allentown Art Festival on June 12-13. I am not exhibiting the 100 American Craftsmen this year due to the schedule conflict.

Joye Schwartz of Joyefulart wrote my pottery on her blog today, http://joyefulartblog.com/painting/one-of-a-kind-friday-pottery. Thank you , Joye.

Good result

Good firing.  I really like the tenmoku glaze combination.  I had this series very limited basis at the show last year. It will be very interesting to see how it sells or not sell.

Now I have one more firing before the first shows in two weeks.  85F is forecasted for next Wednesday. Last firing, the studio was 95F while outside was 74F. I do not think simple math is order here, but will be very toasty.  I am thinking to delay the start of firing for four hours and finish up late night when the temperature drops.  Will see.

I am printing the postcard now. 800 of them.

Firing done

Nice day to fire. Almost no winds. Opening the kiln on Friday.

Getting ready for the shows

I can't believe the festival season starts in three weeks.  Now, I need mail my show  schedule to customers, now snail and e-mails, clean the shelves, and sand and price the pottery before packing into the container.  I have been using the plastic shelves for decades, and want to replace to something... I need something light weight, compact, easy to assemble and steady against the wind. Oh, and  some wall space to hang pieces.  I am thinking to use the IKEA shelves with some backing for a while.  I will get some at Pittsburgh after the Three River festival, and make something out later.

kiln is loaded.

Wired cloud

The weather has been unstable at most. Looking at the kiln log, there are more days with wind over 20 mph this year. We had over 85 degrees in early April, and had snow on the ground two days ago followed by the hurricane like winds over the weekend.



I saw this cloud on Friday.  I have never seen something like that.  Reminded me of the movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

I had firing on last Wednesday with high wind; most of pieces were fine, with some oxidization. Over the weekend, we had great turnout for the building-wide opening.  Many great arts were displayed.

lilac and giffin grip

Lilac is blooming everywhere. This is a time of year to make chopstick holder. It is very simple. Press down the actual leaf on a slab of clay to get nice impression, and use it as template, and cut to shape.



I use the giffin grip (15 years old).  This is great invention. Last 6 months or so, I have hard time centering with it. Last week, one of bottom bracket got broken. I suspect the part broke off may has been loose for a while. I tried glue it temporary with super glue, PC-7 and epoxy until the parts arrive. None of glue worked. The part comes with three sets of the bracket. It seems centering better now.



Unloaded the kiln yesterday. Was good firing.