In the midst of all the chaos, pottery continues.

I got a few things out of the kiln this weekend. I helped Carla load the kiln on Wednesday. Actually, I didn't do much - but it was fun. Loading the kiln is kind of like playing tetris. You want to try and maximize the space and get as many pieces on each shelf as you can, without letting them touch. Then you delicately put the shelf atop the pillars and start a new layer of working things out.

As usual, I saw an analogy to one's spiritual growth in the process of preparing the kiln. Each layer seemed like how we work something out and try to get the pieces of our pottery and our lives and our spiritual growth to work together and fit as well as possible. And sometimes, sometimes, it just isn't possible. Sometimes you have one big piece that you've worked for weeks on - and nothing fits around it. That's ok. Those pieces are just as important as the others - and perhaps it just needs it's own space to develop.

I tried something new this time. I glazed the tray above in a thin white glaze. Yes, it is curled at the edges and somewhat purposefully warped. The tree is painted with blue slip. I'm not much of a painter, but I like the color and concept. I may use the slip for painted bands on pieces in the future. Not a big fan of the piece overall - it will likely wind up at next year's St. Paul's Christmas Bazaar table. It's where all the pieces go that aren't garbage bound, but that I just don't have room for around the house.

I love how this turned out. It is a paten for a chalice that I made a few months ago. The glaze is deep and rich. I love it.

This came out really nice as well. It is white on the outside with plum on the rim and inside. The plum bled through a little on the base and the white turned a lovely orange hue as the chemicals mixed. It's a pretty small piece, but very nice.

Carla makes lots of these. Hers are amazing. This is best one I've done. It makes for a good utensil holder in the kitchen.

This was my big experiment. It didn't come out at all as I had intended. They never really do. But it is wonderful. It is a matte black base glaze with a large bulb (like a babies nasal aspirator) full of shiny black. The shiny black alone looks like a shiny gray metal. It looks very industrial. I like what it did on this bowl. I anticipate doing some platters and additional bowls like this in the future.

This piece is a gift for some friends. Shhh - don't tell them. It came out great - just as I'd hoped. It is a white base glaze with VC Bronze over it. When you're lucky it produces these hints of purple and blue. I was lucky.