Two Mishaps in Kiln

Small vase extracted from kiln

We had to pull two pots from the kiln during the firing. One had gotten knocked off its wadding and was resting on another pot, the other had gotten knocked over by a post that had fallen from a top shelf after a shelf apparently fractured.

So, I'm feeling disappointed this morning because I know the fractured shelf is resting on some nice pots below it. The mishap could have been worse. The shelf could have collapsed and pots could have tumbled. And there's always the possibility that things could still fall.

I discovered the fractured shelf late in the firing after the last stoke. After flames had subsided enough to allow me to see pots, I pushed the stoke hole cover over a bit and looked inside. I saw some nice ash deposits on the bottle up front which I had placed on its side, resting on wads topped with seashells.

I saw a plate that I had leaned on its side against the wall. It looked intact. At the far left, I saw a post sitting on top of a small bottle which had fallen over. My stomach sank.

Photo at right shows the post that fell and the pot it landed on. I'm not sure where the bowl is that was above the post.

It all makes waiting to see inside that much more difficult.

Stirring a stoke