Summer Solstice Colors Clay

Levi and I unloaded the front of the kiln yesterday afternoon, but left the larger pots inside to cool until today. We're delighted with the results - lovely streaks of fuzzy green ash and brilliant soft orange mixed with copper.

Levi fired this kiln load, and I assisted. A tightly packed front and a loosely packed middle and back - in my opinion - caused the kiln to climb quickly once we began to stoke in earnest and climb above 2,000 degrees F. We shut the kiln down about two hours earlier than we usually do, but we managed to get close to cone 10 in the back of the kiln.

Ash buildup was minimal in much of the kiln. Flashing - where the flame actually creates color changes in the clay surface - seemed to dominate this firing.

I'll post more pictures later, but here's three of Levi's tall pots:

It was difficult not to pull these out
yesterday, but we felt they were too
hot to pull out until today.

The tallest of the three is 31 inches.

Back side of pots.

The glass we placed on the large pot
melted onto the floor, so we'll have to
use a diamond blade to cut through
the glass to release it.