Great Bowls of Fire March 24th

Each year twelve potters each donate 25 soup bowls towards this fun evening which raises money for the Ottawa Food Bank.  The Ottawa Guild of Potters hosts the event and this year they created these funky postcards for each of us.  See them all at ottawa guild of potters

Keeping an old kiln alive

After 500+ firings of my kiln, I've been saying a little prayer with each firing that it will continue to be the dependable workhorse I've come to rely on.  The truth is, however, that it won't last forever.  In recent months I've had 4 (or was it 5?) failed firings.  First it was the elements--this was the second time they've been replaced on this kiln, and it was definitely due for new ones!  Then it was a relay, then brass connectors, then the other relay, and finally the thermocouples both needed to be replaced.  There aren't too many more parts that can be replaced on this kiln, so hopefully it will perform well in the coming months.  However, I'm starting to think about getting a replacement kiln before this one lets me down.  I used to have two kilns, but the second smaller one had manual controls and was only used for bisque firing as I didn't get the results I was looking for in glaze firing.  Besides, I needed additional storage space more than I needed a second kiln.  It was a good decision at the time.  Soon there may be another big decision to make....but in the meantime, this old kiln is giving me good results once again.  

frayed wires (at bottom) before replacing brass connectors

 

brand new elements! (and still the old thermocouple)

testing the new elements