The First Kiln Firing!

About a month and a half ago, I bought a used kiln.  Yesterday was the test run on it, so I thought I would share the experience.  There is a learning curve for sure.

I thought I had made PLENTY of pots to fill it, but I still had some room left, so next time I will be sure to make even more.

I also need to get some shorter posts.  I have 3", 4", 6" and 10" but it looks like I should get 8" posts as well because I had a fair bit of unused space in the first layer.  Either that, or make sure I make some tall pieces.

 I bought the smallest standard size kiln, but there was still room for a whole box of mugs (filled with the smallest pods in my new series - more on that in the coming months. I plan on having 52 pods by the time I am all done - one per week)...

...a box full of pods...

 ...one of my new favourites - the soup pod...

...imagine the rather large layer of cheese you could put on this bowl of French Onion Soup!

...and my second antique reproduction.  This one is a reproduction of a glass platter that came from my grandmother's house.  I thought it would be fun to replicate it (and I love it, so there may be many more of this in the future).  I just haven't decided if I want it in just one colour, or if the pattern and background should be two different colours.  One more reason to make a few more and test out what I like.  Oh, I'm going to LOVE having my own kiln!

There were a few other odds and ends in the kiln too.  I was quite surprised by how much fit in it, especially since I ended up running it not even filled to capacity.  It is going to be much more efficient than I thought - especially on the bisque firings.  Looks like I better get myself some more clay.

Linking up with: Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On