As we are potters it is not surprising: We fired again. After few weeks of working with clay followed two days of glazing, one long day of loading and then around twenty hours of firing. Writing this the kiln is just about to be unloaded -we have put aside few bricks waiting till temperature will be safe for pieces inside the kiln. In mean time I would like to show you few pictures from the process.
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| Time for tea : Wild buds 2011 -good choice for hot afternoon. Sample from Jiri Melzer |
Now I already fished out few pots...I hope to see more pieces like those soon. All pots you can see here are from the lower parts of the kiln where we use charcoal technique. Above there are more glazed and finer pots.
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| Unglazed jar -some Liu An basket tea is waitng for it... |
I am going back to the kiln. After unloading the kiln there are two days of cleaning, sorting and completing in front of us.
Love these pictures! Can't wait to see more. What is the piece of greenery you placed in the kiln, on top of the teapots? I'm curious..
ReplyDeleteThank you. The "greenery" is there to make kind of decoration on those pieces. It is technique from Japan where usually rice straw is used. Here it is horsetail- probably the best plant for this growing around me. Each plant has different ash composition and ash from it is what makes that decoration. I have posted few pictures with this "horsetail footprint" in to the post.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your day
Petr
Thank you for posting those pictures of the "horsetail footprint". Love that cup, in particular :) Petr, could you tell a bit about the kind of kiln you use? Wood-fired, yes? How long does it take to do a firing? Do you share the kiln with other potters? I'm still learning, but here it seems that wood-fired kilns are very very large so that it takes days to fire and the kiln is usually shared and tended to by a group of potters. But maybe that's a different kind of wood-fired kiln? Would love to see you do a post about your kiln :)
ReplyDeleteI should look before I speak -- just found the Youtube videos of you and your kiln. It says "old kiln", do you have a new one now? Love the part where you're drinking tea at night while tending the fire, and then the part where you unload the kiln. Like opening the best christmas present! Beautiful work, Petr. Makes me appreciate the two bowls I have of your even more :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful photos Petr, love the cracked glaze teapot, reminds me of something ancient used to prepare chinese medicine...
ReplyDeleteLearn...radishes -Thank you for your interest in to my work. Yes, I fire all my pots in woodkiln. Compare to traditional kilns we can call it "fast fire kiln" We built our new kiln last fall -similar kind like the one from the video but nicer and bigger. Firing usually takes around 18-21hours.
ReplyDeletebtw:it is really funny to see myself like an actor in the movie:)
The Tea Urchin- Thank you for stopping by. On the pictured teapot(s) there is actually glaze -it is only surface, clay and fire.