A Word on Glaze Kilns

"oh-No"

The Emotions of the GK:

-Self-Doubt, just like waiting for a big test, with lots of multiple choice questions to be handed back, GKs are nerve racking.  For three or four days, you sit staring at a door, hoping all the decisions you made worked out and agonizing over what the time in the fire will do to all that effort.  By the time it reaches the kiln, you have already put in at least an hour and a half on each piece.  When you have twenty plus pieces in the kiln, that means literal days of work.  One wrong color choice or wax mistake could disfigure your pot permanently. 

-Powerless!  There is a margin for error on the part of the kiln loader.  This emotion is less of a test grade, more of the first-time-you-let-your-infant-be-babysat feeling.  If they are not paying attention or cautious enough, your piece may break, be dropped, or become discolored due to oxidation. 

-Relief... mostly.  If you have been careful, and smart with color choices, you generally find your results pleasantly surprising.  Usually there will be one piece I love for every three I am ambivalent on, and one I wish I could launch into orbit, just to get it away from me.

All this to say, my first GK of the semester came out today, I came in early for class to check on the babies, they are beautiful!  More good than bad this round.  YAY!  (I'll load photos of the children later)