Wood Fire

Last night I worked my shift at Roger Jamison's wood kiln. The deal is that if you help him with firing, loading, unloading, and occasionally splitting wood you get to put some pots in the kiln. I;m happy to do this because it's fun, interesting, and I always seem to learn something. I also have gotten some really pretty pots from the kiln. It's totally worth the effort.

My shift was not chaotic as some shifts can be. Our goal was to try to hold the temperature in the front of the kiln at about 2000 - 2010 degrees Farenhieght while coaxing the back of the kiln to raise in temperature and catch up to the front. It was at only 1660 degrees when we started our shift. This may not sound like it’s anything really exciting but it has its moments.

During the time in between stoking the kiln, we have a few minutes to chat about pottery and politics or whatever interests us. The ukuleles were played for fun. I'm still really, really new on the uke so I'm very glad that nobody took a video of my playing. The thing is, it's a ukulele, it's just fun. Plus, it's a wood fire. it's just fun. Now I wonder if playing around a simple campfire will pale in comparison.

The firing will be completed this weekend and the pots unloaded the following weekend. I'll post some pictures for you from the unloading festivities.

Check out the gallery page - Future Relics Gallery by Lori Buff