Kiln Opening

March 25, 2023

Opened the kiln this morning! It’s such an exciting process. Today is Saturday, March 25th. I put everything in the kiln on Friday morning at about 6:30AM. It fired until about 2:15PM. Then it cooled until this morning. I woke up and the temp was down to 94 and I could unload the kiln.

I always have a pretty good idea of how something is going to look. Sometimes I get surprised in there, lol. Luckily in this firing everything made it and looks great! I’m proud of myself for the work that I’ve done. Since I was laid off, I have been making and building my pottery business full time. Yesterday was the 50th time I’ve run my kiln!  Can you believe it? It felt really good to know that I have been on a good firing schedule.

I have some pieces that have been drying for a little over a week. They are hollow and don’t have holes in them for the moisture to escape quicker, so I’ll have to wait longer than usual to fire them. That’s ok. I am making lots of other things in the meantime.

I have been working a lot. That is to be expected right now. It’s still winter up here. So I am spending my time doing all the things I need to do to make this business work. I often work 7 days a week. Most days are long but there is an occasional short day 😊. I often stop myself while working and appreciate the fact that I am doing what I love to do. Nothing makes me happier than pulling a lump of clay off and turning it into something magical, something with a little personality. Somedays that’s Fairy Doors, some days it’s cardinals or gnomes. I also have a small list of requests and I try to get those made when I go into the make phase. I can’t wait to get back on the wheel. I did a lot of hand building there for a bit and that’s ok too. I really do love the flexibility in doing both. I’m planning on making some cute cups soon and am excited for that. Let’s hope I didn’t stay away from the wheel for too long. It’s like getting on a bike though, muscle memory comes back.

I hope you all are well. I know spring up here doesn’t feel quite like it yet but it’s coming! It’ll be here before we know it and next thing we know it’ll be July! Hopefully not that fast. Thank you for all the support by liking, following me on my social media platforms. It really is appreciated. I am trying to get over 1K followers and I have a bit to go. Most of my followers are on tik tok and it’s a little uncertain what is going to happen with that right now. So, if you can follow me on fb or Instagram I’d appreciate it, thank you!!!!!