Well I finally have progress to report! The kiln is cranking away down in the basement, thanks to the electrical genius of my dad and my husband. Everything had to be wired from scratch, and luckily Gene is an unlicensed pro! :) I have dubbed her "Retirement Plan B"- she's small but hopefully I'll have her for years to come. Seriously, I just bought the smallest kiln I could find, a "test" kiln. It's not big enough for large pieces, but fine for right now. It was still quite an investment. Perhaps in a few years, if I'm still getting bit by the pottery bug, we'll get a bigger one.
Right now I'm just experimenting, because it's been a few years since I have actually been hands-on with anything pottery related. I haven't worked with glazes since 2008. And I've never fired up a kiln before. My pottery instructor Dianne back in South Carolina, always fired my pieces for me in the industrial-sized giant kilns at the city rec center.
I've made a few bowls, and a few tiles, but right now most of these pieces probably won't end up online for sale. I just wanted pieces in the kiln so I could get a feel for how it works. I'm having bad problems with the kiln wash flaking off, and I've already had pieces stick to my shelves, which is not a situation I want. I've done some research online to find a solution, but so far all I'm doing is making a mess downstairs.
I've got the kiln loaded right now with my last batch that needs to be bisque fired, and now I have a cabinet full of pieces to glaze. I've been using antique butter molds to create the tiles above, and I think I might make enough of those to sell on Etsy. I'll still make my small bowls with the stamped impressions, and as always, my 4 x 4 tiles that I was selling so nicely before we moved.
I am excited and will hopefully get items listed on Etsy in a few weeks. We leave for vacation next weekend, and I will wait until we get back. More than anything, I plan to get back to the blog as well, I miss it and although it does take up a lot of time, I used to enjoy it. Facebook is just so much quicker to connect with everyone and post photos, but you just don't get to say everything you want to say in a one-sentence post sometimes!
Cheers!!
