Loading a wood-fire kiln

Loading a wood fired kiln is a labor of love. Loading any kiln is like putting together a puzzle with no idea what the final picture looks like. Wood firing adds another step, every piece that will touch another surface needs to be separated by wadding and or kiln wash (which is a watered down version of wadding). You will see the little balls under all the pots as they are going in. This includes the lids of pots.

This video is short and sweet, don't want to bore you.  This will give you just a little taste of how the process shakes down.

P.S. I apologize for the quality of this video. I will never claim to be a tech savvy person, but I just had to give this a shot. Enjoy!

Soulgama and a Happy Birthday

Another fantastic firing at Soulgama. Stephen Mickey always gathers a fantastic group of potters and this firing was no exception. The crew is an amazing community or maybe more of a family. We work together to load the kiln and fire it, but we laugh together, eat, drink, and maybe even share a few tears. One crew member described a feeling of Loving Kindness. Yes, it sure was that. Of course attention is placed on our work and the kiln, but there is so much more going on and I'm honored to be a part of it all.

My dear friend Sarah arranged cake and festivities for Sat. night since it was my 38th birthday. Maybe the best birthday ever. They sang me birthday wishes and Sarah made a marvelous chocolate cake. So much love and fun. I can't tell you how much I was touched and grateful to be surrounded by such a grand group of people. Thank you all soooooo much. In two weeks we will meet again and open the kiln and see what magic we created. Can't wait.

Pictured: Stephen Mickey, Jack Walsh, Ron Linn, Natalie Warrens. Brenda Scott feeding the fire. A sea of pots during loading, and a nice shot of Stephen Mickey laughing.