There were over 15 people there and the results of the saggar firing were as dramatic and varied as ever. This was one of Lee's fabulous results...
I love the new ideas that come out of the experience.
I told someone to 'be careful' copper scrubbies can be very strong and harsh when used on a whole piece. They ignored me (thank goodness!) and WOW... it was one of the most dramatic pots from the fire....
There were actually 2 results, 2 separate people. Maggie's pot...and don't remember who's pot this one was...
Just goes to show....just because I know, doesn't mean it's always true. I've never got such stunning results from so much copper.More surprises...
we had 3 kilns, 3 different sizes, 3 different burners and they all fired to the same temp, only the results were so different.
1. Our tall stack was started last and fired off first in just 2 hours.
the results were deep, dark colors, but very exciting. The bottom saggar got very hot so the metallics melted on the surface of the pots...
2. The first kiln started was the last to finish... it stalled out at 1700 degrees for a while. I propped the lid with a thin tile shard and it hit temp in 10 minutes! TRICK: if you're stalling out, play with the air; increase air by propping the lid a bit, or drop the lid slightly to adjust...then watch. then adjust again if nothing happens.
Results were completely varied, of course in large part to how each saggar was loaded. Diane wanted soft colors on her highly carved pots...so she put very few organics and minerals in the saggar...and this is what she got...beautiful, delicate fuming.
And Vicky loaded her saggars full of organics and minerals, but bisqued her pieces to 04, so we think that's why she didn't get much color on her highly sculptural vessels. Sometimes the greatest lessons are from what you didn't get!
3. the second kiln to load was the second to fire off - we used a cone only, no pyrometer. And wow... more great results. Mona stacked her pots densly in sawdust, hoping to get a jet black vessel with a silvery line from the wire...and mostly, it worked beautifully:
One of the great things about the workshop is you may only bring 4 to 6 pieces to fire, but we had over 70 pieces fired in 3 saggar kilns and everyone took photos. So your learning experience is exponentially greater than the number of pots you put in the kiln. And each time you take the workshop, you learn more and more!Our next Polished & Poetic version of Large & Loose takes place in Port Washington, Ohio on May 22 & 23. We already have 4 people signed up...so if you want to join us - fill out the registration form on my website and send $50 to reserve a space. Here's a link to the workshop blog.
