Lauren Bellero on mon 19 jun 06
AMAZED is an understatement...
had one of my pit fires in canada over the
weekend (1/2 pit this time). the weather forecast
called for a thunderstorm. no problem, we have a roof
for the pit. been there, done that.
well, 'thunderstorm' was putting it mildly. noah should
have been there escorting animal pairs up the ark ramp.
the sky opened that night (while the pit was still very
hot). it was niagra falls for hours.
check this out:
http://mudslingers.home.att.net/pit-soup.jpg
some floating pots, and can saggars. and see that water
line on the right side wall? that's 10" and there are
still several inches of water covering lots of pots!
the kiln gods (vexing, impish things!) must have just
been yanking my chain, though, because i got some
real beauties out of there! i can't believe all the pots
survived. a small number have hairline cracks,
but all are in tact and have great color and markings!
woohoo! don'tcha just love it when the kiln gods smile!
signed,
one very happy mudslut!
--
Lauren Bellero, Mudslingers Pottery
http://mudslingerspottery.net
Red Bank, NJ
Vicki Hardin on mon 19 jun 06
Lauren Bellero wrote been yanking my chain, though, because i got some real beauties out of
there! i can't believe all the pots survived. a small number have hairline
cracks, but all are in tact and have great color and markings!>
Hmm, this makes one think about quenching the pit.
Vicki Hardin
Http://vickihardin.com
Vicki in San Angelo who would be pit firing but for the burn ban.
Taylor Hendrix on mon 19 jun 06
Hey Lauren,
I'm always interested in what you're doing. Never thought of floating
the pots up and out of the pit. Wow, that would save my back for
sure.
I'll be looking for some new pictures pretty soon.
The terra sig that James Watkins (yes, name dropping) brought to the
workshop really helped with some great colors. Just unloaded 200lbs
of Watkins' body. Going to love trying that in the pit.
Primitive firing is the pits!
Taylor, in Rockport TX
On 6/18/06, Lauren Bellero wrote:
> AMAZED is an understatement...
>
> had one of my pit fires in canada over the
> weekend (1/2 pit this time). the weather forecast
> called for a thunderstorm. no problem, we have a roof
> for the pit. been there, done that.
...
je motzkin on tue 20 jun 06
Lauren, go girl! That's going with the flow you
have just discovered waku. Try it again.
Best,
Judy
AMAZED is an understatement...
had one of my pit fires in canada over the
weekend (1/2 pit this time). the weather forecast
called for a thunderstorm. no problem, we have a roof
for the pit. been there, done that.
well, 'thunderstorm' was putting it mildly. noah should
have been there escorting animal pairs up the ark ramp.
the sky opened that night (while the pit was still very
hot). it was niagra falls for hours.
617-547-5513
jmotzkin at yahoo.com
http://www.motzkin.com
http://spiritkeeperurns.com
---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail Beta.
Lauren Bellero on tue 20 jun 06
Vickie Hardin wrote:
> Hmm, this makes one think about quenching the pit.
i don't know, vickie, better be extra good to the kiln gods
if you take that 'plunge'! though if i knew what it actually
meant to "be extra good to the kiln gods" i'd never have a
disappointing firing! something i can't say even after 15 years.
but hey, if you figure it out, let the rest of us know, k? (except
maybe that taylor in rockport guy -- he already catches on too
quick) ;-)
--
Lauren Bellero, Mudslingers Pottery
http://mudslingerspottery.net
Red Bank, NJ
Bonnie Staffel on tue 20 jun 06
"Hmm, this makes one think about quenching the pit."
A similar thing happened to our pit when I was firing with Ed Gray a =
couple
of years ago. The floating combustibles hid the fact that the pit was
flooded. However, getting to the quenching bit, my thoughts turned the =
same
way. So next firing, when pulling the hot pots from the pit with tongs =
the
reds started to appear on the pots so then we quenched the pots. Bad =
deal
from our standpoint. The red didn't hold with this activity. I guess =
your
flooding came at a later time in the firing where ours put out the fire =
in
the lower part of the pit. Ed uses a pyrometer to check the interior
temperature of the pit before we start pulling, and was so surprised to =
see
the temperature was only about 250 degrees. Figured the pyrometer was =
off,
but when we started pulling the charred straw off the top ran into the =
pool
of water, saw the reason why. =20
Regards,
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Beginning Processes
Charter Member Potters Council
Chris Leake on wed 21 jun 06
>"Hmm, this makes one think about quenching the pit."
This is similar to what happened to us during a beach pitfire some years ago. We underestimated the tide. Quenching with cold salt water can do wonders for color. And it is kind of fun chasing little worry balls as they try to roll away in the surf. Jim and I liked the effects so much that now we pull the work out and quench each piece. Kind of crossing between pit and raku. Individual quenching could be kind of hard for those of you who have the big pits, but we use a converted old electric kiln as our pit.
I am looking forward to seeing pictures! You can see some of mine on my website.
Chris
http://www.leakeart.com
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