first firing since moving studios

Last week I fired my first kilns since moving out of my studio at Medalta. It was...nerve-wracking to transport all of my fragile bone-dry things across town (during winter!).

glaze kiln unveiling! I fired the Blaauw gas kiln to ^10 reduction. (approx. 1300C)

A problem that I had that I didn't really think of: I had to thaw all my glazes. I had all these plans that once the first frost came to Medicine Hat, I'd go to my storage unit and pull out all my glazes so they wouldn't freeze. Guess what I didn't do?

It wasn't that big of a deal, I just brought them all in to the studio while my bisque firing was going. Miraculously none of my buckets cracked!

Medalta's glaze room

I had lots of cool stuff come out of this firing. While I was at Medalta during my year-long residency I spent a lot of time developing a new glaze palette. I'm going for some more muted greens, soft pinks, and some oranges and yellows to spice it up. I'm really enjoying the combination.

One tragedy that occurred: this super cool awesome piece I've been working on blew up in the bisque firing. :(

Oh well, it happens, right? I guess I forgot to poke a hole in it somewhere. It's a little surprising, though: this thing had been drying for over a month. I guess even in dry dry Medicine Hat things need longer than that.

All is not lost though! I glazed some of the more interesting chunks and I've sent them to Halifax to my friend Lachlan. We're going to make some sort of collaborative sculpture with it. Now the shards are in his hands!

Something that came out of this kiln is a new series of handbuilt jars I've been slowly picking away at. These pinched jars begin as a hollow ball of clay that I then cut a lid into. It's a form I've been working with for a while and FINALLY I've found an aesthetic for them that I'm happy with. These finally feel "finished" to me.

There were many more cool things that came out of this kiln, and I've thrown a few sneak-peeks in here. You'll have to wait for better photos!

Also, I'll be a vendor at the Mercantile on 9th Holiday Pottery Market at the Apothecary in Inglewood, Calgary. I'll be there 10am-5pm on Saturday, Dec. 13th (this weekend!). Come say hi if you're in the area (I'll have the jars with me).

Happy holidays :)