Whoops, I Left Something in the Kiln
It was nearly 8 p.m. when Levi, Chelsea and I finished loading the kiln and bricking up the door. My children drove to their mother's for dinner and I turned to make my way upstairs for my dinner. Then the thought occurred to me that I had not removed something from the kiln.
I reached through the stoke hole and felt below it. Sure enough, the slap of wood that I place on the grate bars to climb in and out was still there. I'd have to unbrick the door to get it out.
I ate my dinner and Mary helped me unbrick a large enough portion to be able to push the wood up high enough to grab it and snake it out.
I've got a kiln full of unfired pots, so I decided to place a propane burner in one of the air intakes and leave it on low overnight. I pushed a couple of large platters so they would dry in time to load today, and I don't want to take a chance of them cracking or, worse, blowing up.
In this load, I have a lot of pieces that Levi made for me, I have some pieces that Chelsea is doing for her Senior Show at UNCA, and a few pieces by Phillip Pollett (Old Gap Pottery). I put a few pieces of Phil's in the front of the kiln that we'll be pulling out of the kiln and quenching in water, a technique called hiki Dashi in Japan.
