Sleepy Sunday Morning

So this morning I get up kind of late because I had a fire call at 2am (I am a volunteer fire fighter, by the way) and didn’t get back to bed until 3:30 or so. As I stumble around groggily I says to myself, I says, “I know! I’ll start some coffee and when I get done unloading the kiln it will be piping hot and ready to go!” How’d that one work out? Not too good! I came in from unloading the kiln to find my counter tops covered with freshly brewed coffee. Apparently the filter broke, and the pot got clogged with grounds sending the brew everywhere but in the coffee pot. Since then I have been sitting around smelling coffee but not being able to drink any because I am too stubborn to make more.
Anyway, another fairly productive week this week. Aside from teaching a couple times and helping my neighbor tear of his roof, I was in the studio most of the time. I was able to run a couple bisque loads through this week, which was cool, but I still do not know what is going on with my kiln. The firings went off without a hitch, which is a good thing; but I don’t know what will happen when I try another glaze firing. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Bisque load #1, featuring glaze testers, larger bowls, Christmas ornaments and failed canisters...

...and bisque load #2, featuring the beginning of the 100 mug challenge, more Christmas ornaments and low fire glaze tests. I don't usually do low fire work, but I had some glazes laying around from a few years ago and I was just given a box of 50 or so more, so I figured I'd test some and maybe use them on ornaments or sculptures or something. The vases in the back are not mine. They were made by my wife's cousin about ten years ago and have been sitting around unfired ever since. Now they are fired and ready to be glazed!

The mugs are rolling pretty good. I have 30 in either green or bisque ware. Now I have to start worrying about glazing…Ugh. It would be easier if I had some test tiles to go by, but if you read my last post you know how that went. Well, I have lids to work on, mugs to glaze and I guess more coffee to make, so I probably ought to get to it.