For those of you who know me, you know that every few months I have the opportunity to include my beads in a wood-firing. This is a pretty rare opportunity since there are a handful of wood-fire potters out there in the world. It's even more rare to have a wood-fire kiln built right in your back yard..... and even more rare to be able to include glazed beads in every firing. Most wood-fire kilns are very large and are designed to accommodate the work of many in one firing. Bill, my husband, built his kiln a few years ago to include mostly his pottery and maybe a few others depending on whether or not he is teaching a workshop. This latest firing was almost all his, since he has a big show this weekend. He did have a few other pieces in it and, as always, my beads were in it. Here are the glazed pieces getting ready for the door to be bricked up.
And.... the firing goes well into the night. Bill stokes the kiln about every three minutes for approximately 15 hours.
Here is the opening.... my favorite part!
And the first pictures of the beads..... these pictures do not really do them justice since I had minimal lighting.....
And there you have it.... one of my favorite experiences with creating....
What are your favorite creative experiences?
As always,
Thank-you for supporting those who create handmade with handmade,
MaryAnn
