Happy festivus to us!  We recently opened up a kiln of freshly baked goodness–glazed tiles.

Just last week, we loaded up about half capacity in the cone 6 electric kiln.  We are in the throes of working out a schedule for 2011 to share kiln loads, rather than fill completely with our own work–a good arrangement because it allows us to fire fewer pieces, a bit more often.  Since we often dabble in new things, it gives us some useful feedback about glaze combinations, design, and the like.

I’m trying something new here.  Even though the photographer (me, in this case) has had better days–the photos below show before and after of each shelf, side by side.  There are definitely some cases where I like the before almost better.   The glaze is still in place, where I left it.  After hanging out in a hot kiln for a while, the glazes sometimes get their own opinions and float around in a different-than-expected direction.   That’s the nutty side of high-fired ceramics–no guarantees–you get what you get….sort of a life lesson, you know?

I noticed a theme of animals for this load–not really intentional, but we have been exploring imagery of dogs and cats recently.  Also, the bottom shelf (the top row of photos, here) had some of Tracy’s dark clay, rustic trees–loaded with visual texture.

We are busy in the studio with some new stuff–more soon.

Happy Year of the Rabbit!