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kiln opening

updated sun 24 jun 07

 

ASHPOTS@AOL.COM on sun 10 dec 00


Well i had my kiln opening yesterday at 12:00 PM. People where here almost in
line. People where trying to get me to open it up before the 12 PM time that
was said on the radio and also in the brochure we mailed out.
Once i opened the kiln people were buying them while the pots were still in
the kiln.
WOW was that fun.Janet the Jeweler was busy wrapping my pots and collecting
my money.She sold some of her stuff also.

Also had some sculptures in the yards from Alan who works for a propane
company.They are neat.

Claudia the pastel artist sold one yesterday also.This has been a fun weekend.
I hope today will be as good as yesterday.

We had publicity on talk radio, had brochures and people came from other
shows i had done because i had the brochures with a map.Any way this sure has
been fun.

By the way the firing was great. Shinos seem to sell slower than my ash
glazed stuff


Capt Mark

Mark Issenberg on tue 19 dec 06


I do open the kiln in front of the buying public. There is no questioning my
prices. I unload for a while and grind the bottoms as they come out of the
kiln. I use a broken kiln shelve.I say how much for the pots and people grab
them and hold them till we all go to the studio to wrap them. Some people are
more aggressive then others , but there have no fights yet.

I try to have lots of bowls and platters and my usual work like lots of
mugs. This last kiln opening I had 6 big vases and 5 were sold to a uncle ,They
took up a lot of space but it all work out OK

Most everything from the kiln gets sold on the spot. I really need to make
more BLUE mugs..

My kiln is 24 cu ft.. I used to open the kiln after 2 days and the pots are
really warm ,now I fire 4 to 5 days earlier and the pots were cold this time,
also the weather was in the teens the days before the opening. I had been
spraying my ashglaze outside and it was 22 degrees. I need to have my spray
booth hooked up. Of course I allways wait till the last minute and dont have
time to deal with it.

And some customers also asked about having a kiln opening when its not so
cold like summer

Mark
Lookout Mountain Pottery

Paul Herman on tue 19 dec 06


Hi Mark and All,

I've been doing "gas kiln openings" for my customers for about twenty
years. They really do like to get them fresh from the kiln, never
seen before. There is no haggling about prices, and I price them as
they come out. It sounds very much like Mark's opening. This year it
was cold, but my customers know it's like that out here and wear
their sensible shoes. They corral their pots, and we go into the shop
where it's warm and have tea and cookies.

And Wayne, I never peek in the kiln before the opening. Over 200
firings in that gas kiln, and I'm fairly confident about the results.
Ten o'clock rolls around, and I start unbricking.

Wood kiln openings take about six hours to unload, and customers are
not invited. There are always some pieces that I don't want to sell,
or want to keep for special reasons, or just look at for a while.
Wood kiln openings are a pretty emotional thing for me, and it's best
if the customers see the stuff after a few weeks.

This year the weather cooperated and was at least sunny, which
brought out a lot of people. We also got some free local publicity
from the Reno paper and a video of our last wood firing shown on the
PBS station. Several new customers showed up, and wanted wood fired
pots that came from the kiln they saw on TV. So it was the best fall
sale yet, and I'm on vacation from the pottery shop. Been getting my
nap almost every day, and it's good.

It's another lovely sunny dry day here in Long Valley, 3 degrees F
this morning.

Best,

Paul Herman

Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
http://greatbasinpottery.com


On Dec 19, 2006, at 3:04 AM, Mark Issenberg wrote:

> I do open the kiln in front of the buying public. There is no
> questioning my
> prices. I unload for a while and grind the bottoms as they come out
> of the
> kiln. I use a broken kiln shelve.I say how much for the pots and
> people grab
> them and hold them till we all go to the studio to wrap them. Some
> people are
> more aggressive then others , but there have no fights yet.
>

gordo on fri 22 jun 07


hello all, their will be an opening of the new Horsheshoe Creek anagama =
kiln that was built this past two weeks by Gary Hootman , see =
www.garyhootman.com . we had a near 5 day firing up to 2300 degrees and =
hope to see grand results. their will be Pots, Jars, Tea Pots, Vases, =
and sculptures by the following artists:
Gary Hootman Cedar Rapids Iowa
David Reneau Glaskow KY
Richard Montgomery Winston Salem NC
Gordon Jones WInston Salem NC
Debbie Talbert Lexington NC
address 4754 Horsheshoe Neck Rd. Lexington NC
25 miles south of winston salem. we will open it up at 11:00 am sat. =
23rd pots for sale see you there. gordon
"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right" Henry =
Ford.