firing The Rocket, South Wales Potters' kiln

On Friday afternoon, pallets were deconstructed

and much discussion and work under the tutelage of Stephen Mills, potter and pyromantic.  "This finger is loaded" he commented on the next photo!!

Others lit the kiln at 8am on the Saturday.
How else to potters heat water for brewing tea?!!

Stoking, Rebecca Buck and Mary Watkins of South Wales Potters.

Has it reached temperature?

Temperature reached at 5.15pm (and 1235 on the pyrometer) then damper in to "turn it off".

The kiln god worked!!..or goddess as six women fired this kiln!

and near the end of the firing, we had a visit from Frank and Janet Hamer, who are celebrating sixty years of potting together with an exhibition in August at Craft Renaissance Gallery.

South Wales Potters at Bridge Pottery, Cheriton, Gower

On the fifteenth of October I went to a South Wales Potters meeting at Micki Schloessink's Bridge Pottery in Cheriton, Gower, near Swansea.
We discussed making, firing and selling , and watched Micki making.



One she made earlier!





The spacious workshop, warmed by a woodburning stove, where we tried two of the clays that she imports from near La Bourne in France.
I made a horse in the "Terre Primitif", which is actually a made body!

The kiln is warmed by propane then fired with wood



Discussing glaze tests
Fleen Doran, who is Micki's apprentice on the "adopt a potter" scheme

South Wales Potters at Llantarnam Grange

This morning we had a demonstration from Simon Hulbert of Brook Street Pottery in Hay on Wye.
Lovely Luscious Mud!!

It would be so tempting to do earthenware again, if I had both my wheels in the workshop!!

The weather was beautiful, consequently we held the AGM "al fresco", outside under the trees in front of the gallery!

firing day, Gwehelog

South Wales Potters held a firing day, firing a brick built wood-fired kiln of about 7 cubic foot packing space. As rain was forecast, it was tackle the gazebo time.....
Erm....... How many potters does it take to get a gazebo up???!!!
Ta Daaaa!!
After all that it only just rained a little as the firing finished.The weather was just right, sunny intervals, not too hot for kiln stoking.
I contributed a pony"kiln god"
The ingenious door
Which opens clear away from the firebox entrance
Steve Hozelitz busy, Steve Mills supervising, doing a grand job, with help from Kate Mills.

Stoking was two lengths of pallet at a time, three seemed excessive, and stalled the temperature gain
The wood stack
using a baulk of wood to keep the door closed
just after a stoke, you can see the spiral flow of the smoke
unfortunately a weld cracked on a flue, but it didn't seem to affect it too much
getting ready to turn the kiln off, by lowering the flues
going....
gone, and capped with a kiln shelf
The firing only took seven hours, which was quite respectable.
Unfortunately the clay supporting the cones wasn't bone dry, AND the initial temperature rise was too fast .(blame the kiln god?!!) It therefore exploded and spread what was describe as 'crud' over most of the pots! However, much was learnt from the firing, and some decent pots emerged the following day. I had two small bowls, and a horse dish, which I wasn't going to sell anyway. It was the only survivor of the first three made, and my Man liked it!

I must thank those who knew about him for looking after me. It was a day of good food, hard work and much learning, and we are all looking forward to the next firing in July.