Having previously reduction cooled the electric/gas hybrid kiln at STARworks with Josh Goering and Eamon Rogers, one of my goals is to expand upon this research as well as hone in on a color pallet utilizing the North Carolina clays. While Josh and I wanted to fire this kiln again before Woodfire NC, there are some elements that need replacing. Because the timeline for delivery is unknown, our plan is to reduction cool the smaller gas kiln instead to achieve similar results. Theoretically, this is possible; however, this kiln does not have as tight a seal and cools at a faster rate than the other one. While it cools faster partially due to volume differences, extra exposure to cracks and air is also a factor. A slower cooling is said to increase brighter reds and make the okeewemee slip truly pop, so we have been inclined to utilize the hybrid kiln to achieve these results in the past. I’m looking forward to evaluating the differences between the two experiences.
In making work for this firing, I used the michfield/cameron slip for decoration and continued to slip trail Josh’s nuka glaze for more fine line work. These two elements were good take-aways from our previous reduction cool firing. I also wanted to fire one of the okeewemee slip cast cups to see if it would crack. Theories for the cracking in the last firing were attributed to the liner glaze creating an uneven tension (improper glaze-fit) or the intense level of reduction during the firing. Thinking of the level of iron present in the okeewemee clay, reduced iron particles have the potential to encourage slumping; therefore, reducing it longer during different stages of the firing could have caused the cracking. Either way, I’m excited to see how these results yield.
This cycle of making also included playing with tissue paper transfers and doing some underglaze work on plates. These works are more conceptual in thought than I have gotten used to recently. While in the past I have made slip cast lampshades decorated with drawn bathroom sketches, a similar line of thought was connected for the Reversed Kitchen Studies. Where were the lampshades installed? In a bathroom. Where would the plates be used? In the kitchen. With this thought in mind, I reminisced about the kitchens I have lived in. These spaces make a house feel like home – cooking, laughter, and fulfillment. Drawing and putting these ideas to ceramic surfaces helped me to convey my own memories and think back to the fondness of living in these homes. Sharing this living space with another is also special and sentimental. It is also interesting to me how some memories can be skewed overtime. While these kitchen spaces are drawn from memory, some details could be out of place from the original interior design.
Finally, I included some of the funky flower basket forms in this firing as well. While I loved the first two I had ever made, ignoring these forms helps a little when making the next form. If I look to the past, I can’t recreate it. Learning something from a past form and building on it encourages new forms and the creative juices run more freely. When working in this manner, the forms in the making cycle are more cohesive and breathe together. While these basket forms are fun to make, I am finding the handle can be applied to mugs as well. The thickness of the slab tends to outweigh the cup, thus causing balancing issues, but a mold of this form might be made in the near future. Utilizing this method will allow me to make the handles hollow and balance the work better. I could also throw the cups thicker to counteract the weight, but I think this solution would be less comfy to hold in the end.
Switching gears to firing, Josh and I reduced at cone 010, cut the kiln off around cone 9, and put the kiln back into reduction at 2100 degrees. The firing was completely finished once the kiln cooled (in a reduced atmosphere) to 1700. With this gas kiln, there are four burners facing upwards that enter the kiln; however, there is a slight gap thus allowing for air to enter the kiln in between the burner and the bricks. Once it reached the right temperature and the gas was turned off, we sealed these gaps off with kaowool and broken kiln shelves to maintain the heat. We also closed the damper.
After unloading and observing, I felt the results were a success! While the main difference between the firing in the electric/gas hybrid kiln and this gas kiln was the amount of red yielding from the okeewemee, overall most other clays and glazes fired similarly. The cup didn’t crack, which makes me think it might have been a glaze-fit issue, but I’m looking forward to testing it once again in the hybrid kiln for consistency once the new elements come in.
Some new glazes I formulated with high contents of the North Carolina clays proved a success as well. While the okeewemee glaze came out more speckly and light in color than I expected, the contrast of it in a reduction cooled firing compared to the same glaze in a salt firing is dramatic. This glaze stemmed from a triaxial blend I had tested in both an electric and salt firing separately while this result is completely different from the two. I’m interested to see how the triaxials fire in the next firing, for I will be testing them in a reduction cooled atmosphere. After these results are conclusive, a blog post will be released with recipes and results.
As we get closer to the Woodfire Conference, I’m getting stoked to meet and work with many new people – making friends along the way!
Emily Fedorchak 