February's Harvest: Experiments in Copper Red



Geez, I guess I won't win any points for being timely last month. My latest round of pots seemed to take forever! As usual, my day job, demands of family and fatherhood took center stage. I did make some rather good investments that helped me finally win over the elusive and problematic copper red glaze.




The most important piece of equipment that I have now in my gas firing arsenal, is the dual digital pyrometer.  When I fire my updraft kiln, it is very hard to control temperature differential between top and bottom zones.  Now with this pyrometer, I can make changes to the kiln and instantly see the results.
It is a must have for kilns of the same updraft design.

The other important investment that I made was purchasing John Britt's book on high fire glazes.  It was a very helpful addition to my ceramic study library. I really love the details and firing schedules for the different recipes and effects.  Can't thank you enough John!

Here are a couple more pieces from the batch....

Small pot with plum, blue and purple effects. Love that variation...




Gotta love that color!

Although I am quite happy with the results from this firing I can only hope to duplicate a small portion of it again.  As I have heard said in ceramic circles, potters are only as good as their last firing!

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