Joyce Lee on fri 21 nov 97
Thanks for the help with oxidation/neutral atmospheres. I am still in
the midst of a series of firings in my 8 cu ft stacking space Geil gas
kiln (which I love, by the way). I've fired this kiln many times but
with great expanses of time between firings while I worked on throwing
and slabbing skills. Up until now I've been simply following the firing
schedule suggested by Geil after checking my brain at the studio door.
Now, as I learn more, I realize that I've been doing some steps by rote
without knowing whether I'm even doing them correctly much less what
they mean. I've just been thrilled when I could actually tell that the
kiln was IN reduction, forget heavy, light or just "reduction." Now I'm
noticing that sometimes the schedule says "in reduction " and sometimes
"heavy reduction," and sometimes "light reduction." I've looked in
Hamer's which mentions the terms but doesn't describe how they differ.
How do they differ, if anybody cares to share? My glazes are looking
pretty good generally, although occasionally I wonder where in the world
a specific glaze came from since I will remember well, for example, (and
have recorded) a mottled green (ugly) layered with a soft white (nice)
about halfway up the pot, and getting a dark purple with red spots and a
tiny bit of ugly mottle showing around the rim. It's certainly a
learning experience and I'm hanging onto the curve.
Thank you as always for your generous spirits.
Joyce
In the Mojave grateful for the lack of wind for firing
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