Every time I go to Dakota Potters Supply to pick up my pieces from the kiln, it feels like Christmas. I get a box of surprises and I don’t really know what’s going to be in them. I’m endlessly experimenting plus you never know what’s going to happen in a kiln fire. Occasionally it goes as planned, sometimes you get a magical surprise, but sometimes it’s just not what you hoped. Here are a few of my latest pieces from the kiln.
Glaze is going to do what glaze is going to do. It’s a big chemistry experiment, even with tried and true glaze combinations. Sometimes the kiln gods are kind, other times I am saddened or upset by the gifts they have given me.
This last kiln load had a definite surprise for me: a bubble in one of my pieces. I was seriously grumpy about that. What the heck do you do with a mug that has a bubble in it? I guess I just have to be happy that it didn’t explode in the kiln and ruin all the pieces. My mind is also analyzing the colors, thinking how to make this better?
And on the other pieces, yes, they turned out fine. I’m just not that excited about them. This is why I’m asking myself am I getting jaded? I surely had some good results: some that other potters would be absolutely thrilled with. The bar in my head is very high.
Perhaps I need to try some more daring experiments. Those can end up magical or dismal or somewhere in between. You never quite know. That’s why it’s like Christmas. Are you going to like your presents or have to pretend you like them?
At least with the kiln, it has no feelings. It’s just doing it’s thing, and whatever comes out is what it is.
This is why I make the heart bowls. It’s easy to be self critical, to judge your work. While that analysis can be valuable, it’s also hard on your heart. The heart bowls remind me to be kind to myself, to let go of judgment and remember that this is a process, a journey. Don’t be too critical of yourself. Your failures might be another person’s dream.
