Listening and Learning: Before and After Pottery Firing

     Pottery is a LOOONG process. Long. It's not "I want this" and you make it that week. It's "I want this for two months from now". If I was not employed or taking care of my farm it would be admittedly a much shorter process, but finding a whole day to do little but baby-sit the kiln is a challenge.

     I'm in the process of making custom pet bowls for my crew. Every few months I add 2-3 more bowls. It's a process. Some may say it's a sign of excessive cats, but that seems a ridiculous thought so I don't entertain it.

     The fun of pottery (besides the mud everywhere) is the "Christmas on Demand" aspect of glaze firing. Bisque firing is putting in large, very fragile pieces of dry clay, and 24 hours later getting out much smaller tougher pieces of dried clay. It's admittedly underwhelming to say the least.

     But glaze firing is different. Glaze firing is putting in ugly, dull, dirty pieces of dried clay and getting out pottery. The clay undergoes a chemical change because of the extreme heat and becomes ceramic; and the dull, dirty glaze becomes glass.

     This is the top level of the kiln before firing.