I packed and fired my first kiln load of work this week.
I have packed and fired heaps of kiln loads of work at the Polytechnic but I have always had my tutors or the technician there to call on for last minute advice and a final check over before the kiln is locked down and switched on.
This time I was totally on my own.
It was exhilarating and nerve wracking at the same time.
There was about eight weeks worth of work in the one firing and if anything had gone wrong I would have had to start again from scratch.
This first firing is called a bisque firing. You wait until all the work has dried out and then you pack it into the kiln and fire it to 1000 degrees Centigrade (1832 F) It is in this initial firing that work can explode, crack or shatter. If I hadn’t packed the shelves properly, they could have collapsed. The potential for disaster is really quite high and I have been a tad nervous for the past couple of days.
I opened the kiln this morning to have a quick look and all the work has survived.
YAY!
So in order to celebrate and to share the anticipation I am going to have a give-away.
I will give away 2 tall cups that I will fire sometime over the Easter Break. The cups will be similar to these but you get to choose the colour of the highlight. They can also be all white or all one colour. Your choice.
Here are the rules.
Anyone can enter.
Simply leave me a comment telling me what colour you would like.
You must click on the friend connect thingy on the sidebar in order to be eligible to win.
You can enter once a day for the duration of the giveaway.
Entries will close at 9pm on Easter Saturday, Australian Time.
That is it.
Easy Peasy.
Good Luck.
*UPDATED *
If you tweet this post for me I will add in another entry for you.
Updated Again. Comments are now closed.
I will announce the winner tomorrow, Easter Sunday.
Good Luck everyone.
Comments on this entry are closed.
Pink! But I can’t click on friends connect thing in sidebar from
My iPhone 🙁 will need to do that later from computer.
I don’t know if I can do Pink. I will do a bit of research and see what I can work out
I’ve done the google friends connect under my blogger account.
As Heidi loves rainbows pretty much any colour would be awesome 😀 Annie tells me that black can not be my favourite colour because it is not a colour, it is a shade. Thus pink is the default 😀
wow! Awesome idea Kim 🙂 My colours would be (hoping you can do both) mixture of purples & greens 🙂
(fingers crossed hey) xxx
Purple tends to burn out and goes blue. But I can definitely do the greens.
OK then will just stick to the greena 🙂 Thanks Kim x
Blue!
I clicked as Blossom.
I think green please.
Green with brown, like my earthy colours 🙂
And Yay for no kiln explosions!!
Blue!
I love the sagey-green of some of your pieces that Veronica photographed against the white brick wall… or a tarnished copper verdigris patina. But I’m very far away. I’m happy that your first firing went so well! Cheers!!
If you win Janet I will send them to you. The giveaway is open to everyone 🙂 I can do a nice copper green verdigris.
Thanks for the lovely giveaway. I couldn’t choose on the colour (after I read that purple doesn’t come out well) so I asked my son. He said green!
Talented artist as well as photographer. Wow.
So pleased the firing was a success.
I am having issues with the friend connect thingie at the moment. It puts me up as a silhouette, with my real name attached. Humph. And blogger is recalcitrant in assisting me.
I love the blue – or brown would be nice too! I connected and I am not letting Kevin know about your giveaway so he doesn’t spam you like he did me 😉 lol
lol. Thanks Mrs Oh.
They are beautiful Kim. It must be such a relief to see your hard work pay off. I bet your Mum is looking down smiling :).
I ‘d love them same as the above…white with blue.
I can really feel Mum’s energy when I am in the studio. It is a good work space. I like the sky blue on white as well 🙂
They are gorgeous. I think green would be beautiful..
Ooohhhh! I adore handmade stuff and these are beautiful! As far as colours, I am a green girl. Thanks Kim! You are talented xx
Congrats on the successful first firing! Hopefully it’s the first of many such 😉
Like many other commenters so far my favourite colour is green. They are really pretty cups, it must have been so exciting unpacking the kiln and seeing how everything turned out.
Didn’t SOMEONE promise me some more tall cups? I seem to remember a conversation about that…
So I will add cups to the ever growing list of stuff you want me to make for you. *sighs* You always were a demanding child.
Congratulations on the first firing. It’s moments like that that just swell your heart with pride. Will be excited to see the final product.
Red is definitely my favourite colour (actually my lounge room walls are similar to the colour in your sidebars) but if that’s impossible green is my number two. I live in the small pocket of temperate rainforests to the East of Melbourne and I love the vibrant greens I see from every window of my home, a little piece of paradise.
I can try for the red but sometimes it burns out and goes an icky brownish colour. Green is easy 🙂
A great achievement, Kim. No collapses, no explosions, no cracks. The same sort of thing can happen with glass. I so wish I could join you in this. I would os like to have had the opportunity to try my hand with a kiln and an annealer! (I am of course, leaving myself out of the running. Let someone else have a set!)
Oh Kim they are beautiful! I wouldn’t change a thing – that colour is so clear, tranquil and peaceful, reminding me of the things I love – sky and the ocean. I don’t need to be included in the draw as I live so very far away, but I did want to say how much I loved the cups and how in awe I am that you can create such beauty.
If you win Marie it isn’t a problem to send them to Sweden. I sometimes send my work off overseas and the postage isn’t too bad 🙂
Congratulations Kim on your first firing! How exciting for you!
Those cups are gorgeous – I love the blue you’ve used there – but turquoise would be very nice too.
xx
They are really pretty. I wish I had that talent.
White with purple would be lovely.
I can try for purple Kathryn but it often burns out in the kiln and just goes a royal blue-ish sort of colour
the blue is lovely!
I’ll click the thing on the side but I’m not a blogger user so it’s sort of redundant….
lol No worries Bells, it was just to make me look more popular than I really am 😉
Wow, that’s great news! Well done you.
I love them white – they’re thrown beautifully.
Thanks Sarah, they are actually slip cast cups. I enjoy throwing but my thrown work is a bit more solid than these cups.
Ohh YAY! Well done sweety! I like the colour you have on those ones… sort of teal green. Me likey!
I’m already a google friend member, do I have to click on that everyday?
I’d love a white cup like the pictured ones, but with a red highlight the same as your blog background.
How exciting to be doing your own firing without backup help!
Are you working in your new studio?
No River, just the once will do 🙂 Red is a bit tricky as it often burns out to an icky sort of brown. I am working int he studio now and it is so lovely to have a space that is designed just for me. I still need heaps of shelves built but other than a lack of storage space it is working well 🙂
Any colour of your choosing but the blue and white as pictured is stunning.
They are just beautiful! I’d love them exactly as they are!
Cobalt blue! I love these, Kim! 🙂
Red!
They’re so beautiful!
I can’t really do Red Iggy, I can try but it sometimes burns out to a muddy brown colour.
Oh, what a wonderful feeling to open the kiln door and all is well.
Your Work is lovely and having a tiny potter of my own, it is very impressive to see such straight lines in your cups. 😉
We are hoping to get our own kiln, one day, so now I know someone to ask for advice from.
*giggles* and then I read more of the comments and saw the “slip cast” part.
I didn’t know you could do cups! My little potter always seems to come home with yet another duck when they do slipcasting. 😉
I filled a take-away milkshake drink container with plaster to make the model of the cup. I sanded it until I was happy with the lines and then I made the mould. I liked the idea of making solid ceramic cups from a throw-away cup. It is a one piece drop mould, very simple to make and use. When I make some new moulds I will take photos and publish a “how to” post
Okay, how about purple? I also like Blue. If I won them I honestly wouldn’t care what colour they are :p
The purple will burn out to blue 🙂 If you win we can have a more detailed chat about colours. Good Luck 🙂
They look great Kim….you have done well…! I know the feeling….with your first firing….but you will get used to it!
I could get slightly addicted to the dangerous thrill it gives me to know I am risking it all on the the one firing 🙂
So pretty, these cups are just lovely! I was thinking purple or burgundy would be nice although I guess they would pale out to blue and pink? Blue is good too! 🙂
Definitely any shade of red, it will look amazing, like flames licking the side of the cup…
I am already a follower, do I need to click on friend connect and if so how do I do it?
X C
Kim, you had me reminiscing. A million years ago, as a child, I took pottery classes. I loved it. The kiln and its threats and its power always fascinated me. I am so glad you had no disasters.
These tall cups are gorgeous. I would go for red. Red on white is my favourite colour combination for just about most things.
(I have tweeted too….)
Lucy x
They are just beautiful cups Kim. I love the ones picture so blue would be perfect. How exciting!
I like the idea of black on such a pure white, would remind me of Japanese calligraphy strokes. Copper lustre and reds are beautiful too. But I would say that (hides hair under a bonnet)!
These are beautiful Kim; would a terracotta type colour work?
These are beautiful! Congratulations 🙂
I’m a purple girl, but the blue is so lovely and given you’ve said the purple can be a bit funky I’d choose blue just like these ones.
Ooh, they’re pretty! If I win, I’d love pink. Oh, and I thought I was already connected on your friend connecty thing. I am now though! xx
These are seriously gorgeous!
I’ll have to say blue. Although, looking at the amount of entries, I think my chances of winning are pretty slim! hehe!! This has to be one of the most popular giveaways I’ve seen in a while!! Go Kim!!! 🙂
Thanks Kellie, You have made me feel heaps better 🙂
Okay, the friend thing – check, the tweet thing – I think I retweeted a tweet of your this morning as I hid under the covers at the hotel (I hate that everyone else in my family sleeps in!) and I am told that the colour should be green (it seems Miss 4 is set on winning this after winning 3rd prize in the Kinder Easter raffle!)
Thank goodness I still had time to enter. 🙂
I am pleased that you did 🙂
Please can I request pink if I win? I wish, how I wish I could be creative like you. These are truly special. A bit like you x
You are creative. My medium is clay. Your medium is words.
Im back…………………..green please!!!!
Happy earth day, Kim and friends…blue and green planet tones would be beautiful.
Entering again. 🙂
mmm as I sip my morning at the farm I saw your tweet nothing is nicer than a cuppa in a beautiful mug.
Congrats on your first kiln firing all by yourself! I’m glad nothing shattered!
I love the blue highlights on the cups pictured, so I think I’d stick with those. 🙂
Blue!!