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The Sun. Image borrowed from UniverseToday.com

Recently it has been brutally hot.  If you live in Texas, you know what I mean. And all I can think about is WHEN will it cool off?

How does this relate to ceramics? Let me explain.

Kiln firing. Image borrowed from ceramicartsdaily.org

I work with kilns that easily reach 2232 degrees farenheit. My kiln yard is outside. The weather has been 100+ every day for who knows how long (I have lost count). This results in rolling power outages, which makes firing an electric kiln tricky. Not to mention loading and unloading a kiln in 100+ temperatures can be very dangerous. Lucky for me the only accidents I have had was cutting my foot on ceramic shards- I think somebody needs to clean my kiln yard.

Anyhow, enough venting, right? Sorry…it is just so hot that really is all I can think about!

And one last thought: does anybody else see HOW similar the inside of a firing kiln and the sun are…AHHHH HOT!!

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If you have ever glazed before, you know many glazes look like the same dull rosey-brown color before being fired. It is pretty amazing to see the all colors that come out of the kiln after loading what was hundreds of rosey-brown pieces.

Take for instance this Mary (from my nativity trio) before and after picture.

BEFORE

AFTER

Aren’t the results surprising!!

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The other day I spent over 10 hours putting wax on my ceramics.

Why, you ask?

First, I want to let you in on a little secret. People often think that if the piece is waxed, it will not run or drip glaze. Or that it will prevent the piece from sticking to the kiln shelf. Unfortunately neither of these are true. The wax melts off long before the glaze changes into the glassy surface you are used to seeing. BUT there are reasons to wax your ceramics.

I wax most pieces so then I can dip them in my glazes. Then all I have to do is gently wipe off any beads of glaze that remain on the wax with a sponge. So not only am I wasting less glaze, but it makes cleanup a breeze.

But it is not all fun and games. Waxing can be very tedious depending on the piece and if you make a mistake it is very hard to fix. (read: pull your hair our hard!) This is because the bisqued ceramics are porous and suck up the wax like a sponge. So even if you scrape it off the surface, it still has a wax resist inside!

But once the waxing is done (10+ hours in my case), I can glaze my pieces with less effort which makes for a happier ceramic artist. Yay!