Summer Firing and Laying Foundations

Pots glow in the heat of the Saskunei kiln's fire.

When we left the kiln last November, it was nearly ready to fire, but I was completely unprepared for the amount of work it would take to get the first firing off the ground. At first I thought we would light the fire in March, and this got pushed back to April. Insulating the kiln, preparing shelves and bricks, glazing and loading pots, finishing the school year- all conspired to push our first firing to early June, after school finished.

Here we are in the middle of laying on the insulating layer of cement, sand, fire clay and vermiculite.

Dad is taking a turn stoking the fire. On the list for the next firing: bigger, longer, better gloves!

To help raise the temperature after reaching 2000 degrees, we used a technique called, "The Fire Door."

After 24 hours, raising the temperature to 2300 degrees Fahrenheit, we shut the kiln down, and four days later we cracked it open to find some really nice work. About two-thirds of the pottery was under-fired. We are learning to fire the new kiln! Already a plan is forming to change how we load and fire for next time, perhaps as early as September or October.

The months after the firing have been busy preparing the property (and ourselves) for the excavation and laying the foundation. It is finally time to see lines on paper come to life!

Stakes marked the outer edges of the studio and the sauna area.

We were amazed by the amount of dirt that came out of the hole!

For the first time we could walk inside the future walls of the studio and sauna.