Loading the Kiln

1st Photo. The small kiln sits, empty and ready to load.  There is a kiln shelf on the bottom to protect the fire brick of the bottom, which is soft and porous.

















2nd Photo. The kiln sitter is a device on the side of the kiln into which a pyro-active cone, one that will shut off the kiln at a certain temperature when it bends, is inserted.















3rd Photo. The bottom has been loaded and one shelf in place. These shelves and a full one on the bottom are covered with kiln wash that keeps pieces from sticking to them. The pegs in each corner are what the shelves sit upon. Both shelving and the stilts are called the kiln "furniture".

















4th photo. The kiln is fully loaded and ready to fire. My friend is adjusting some kiln furniture to see if the lid of the tea pot is clear of pegs in a stilt that is underneath it, and is actually resting on the "dry" foot ( the edge I made that has no glaze on it).

The colors of the glazes are so different, when fired, than what the pieces look like now, particularly the animals, that you will be very surprised when you see the finished work. We do a little nail biting until we actually see them. Tomorrow we unload the kiln.