First Kiln Opening Video! Christmas Market, Beginner Potter Sydney Australia Unedited

[@RedEftDesigns]

Nice kiln opening video, i hope you make more! They are so fun to watch (and to do!) My Abalone comes out much the same texture although still a bit more pink than yours. I mosly like it to make other glazes run, like in the peacock technique, but try it with peppered plum...it brings out the pink in both. I recently saw an example of frosted lemon over peppered plum that was very pretty. Hope you had a great holiday market ☮️

[@MUDTOFIRE]

oh wow will try this! thanks for the idea, makes me want to jump straight back into the clay but i have to finish painting my studio aaaaahhhh thanks again the market was really good! Better than I expected

[@AudreyLynnStudios]

Nice kiln opening! Funny for me, a Canadian, to see you in shorts during the Christmas season!😂 I agree with you about the Peppered Plum...not my favorite glaze, but I do like what you did with it. I feel your disappointment, I have never, ever had Abalone come out pink like advertised. Anyway, Merry Christmas! Love the trees!

[@MUDTOFIRE]

Thanks so much! We are having an absolute scorcher this year ☀️ shame coz I love Mayco glazes, they brush on so beautifully. Will try layering it with others ☺️

[@WhiteStoneCottagePottery]

I hope your market was hugely successful! You might consider accentuating the wonkiness of the trees to make them a cute variation sorta like a dancing tree. 😁

[@MUDTOFIRE]

Thank you!! I definitely did better than I expected! I actually have the plan to make my own design of tree instead of a cookie cutter so it’s unique and will have my own fingerprints too. I love that so much 🧡💛💃🏽

[@micheledickey4066]

With the cones that go in plaques it is supposed to go right where it did! Full cone 6. With the fee standing ones you want it to go to the top of the base that the cone is on. I turned my kiln off last Sunday right when my cone 6 was bent over but it got to a cone 7!! I manually turn my kiln off every time so I know what cones it gets to. The bottom of my kiln fires to a full cone higher than the top! I’ve found if I stagger my shelves it helps but I have quite a large kiln. I completely agree with finishing the bottom like you do. I handbuild so I don’t trim my pots but i do color my bottoms with an iron wash or manganese wash so it’s not so stark white and it doesn’t stick ! I’ve never seen a kiln like yours. It goes pretty deep. Very cool seeing older kilns. Do you use cones on every shelf? The glazes come out more satin or even matte if they don’t get hot enough. What an awesome idea of making the candle hearts!! Love that! Sorry about the abalone glaze. It easily burns out. Most glazes fire out at higher temps not lower. If you add a crystal glaze to the edges it will look great. Can’t wait to see more from you! It’s so funny that all of you in Australia are so hot when most of the US is freezing!

[@MUDTOFIRE]

Hey Michele thanks for your reply! The colour I was bummed about was SeaSpray by Chrysanthos and I was expecting it to be a green with white flecks not blue so I was completely thrown off, and yes it was meant to get a lot hotter but my lowest shelf barely gets to Cone 5. I dont use cones on every shelf, I only used did a cone on each shelf at first using the kiln to learn what each shelf did in comparison with each other. Cones are so expensive, like nearly $1.50 each here in Aus so its a big expense to put a cone on each of the 4 or 5 shelves! I will try it again thicker and in a hotter spot. Thanks for the crystal glaze idea, I will definitely refire that ring dish :) Putting out another video soon, doing a studio renovation, ripping up carpet and moving my wheel currently, in sweltering heat of course lol.

[@micheledickey4066]

I’m glad it was helpful. That’s crazy the cones are so expensive. I wasn’t sure how long you had been using the kiln. Cant wait for the next one.

[@heididerksen8227]

The pepper plum goes purplely at a cone 6

[@MUDTOFIRE]

Thanks Heidi I will make sure I get it a bit hotter next time :)

[@MeandmyfireflyEZCreations]

Good luck with the markets. How long have you been playing with clay. When did you get your kiln? I started my clay journey October 2022. And thoroughly enjoy it and go to a studio weekly. I can use clay and glazes and work on a piece each week. Never knowing what I will make. I just start and see where I end up. You're very brave doing the KZbin videos. I should have documented the start of my journey. Where I started on my little studio space in my study. Anyway good luck with it all.

[@MUDTOFIRE]

Thanks so much Evelyn! It’s crazy how fast you can progress and learn so documenting stuff is so good to look back on! I’ve had a small kiln for a long time from when I was doing glass bead making and fusing. I bought a bigger kiln in 2020 to do ceramics as my little kiln was wayyy too small. Good luck with your making, have you got a page anywhere? Market day went really well despite the extreme heat that day 😊

[@MeandmyfireflyEZCreations]

@@MUDTOFIRE no page as yet just photos on my phone. What type of kiln did you get and how big is it? I'm still learning how to glaze just doing sample glazes on shitty pieces rather than a tile.

[@MUDTOFIRE]

Its a very old top loading kiln that is 35cm cubed inside. Its a bit slow taking 11 hours for a glaze firing but its been great and have learned how to do simple repairs on it including replacing the thermocouple. Glazing is a huge learning curve!