Inside the kiln on a firing day
A glaze firing takes about fourteen hours to heat and another day to cool. We load the kiln the evening before, shelf by shelf, with the tallest pieces on the bottom.
Each vase sits on its own patch of shelf with a finger's width around it. Glaze is glass when it melts, and two pieces that touch become one.
Opening day
Opening the kiln is the best part of the week. Most pieces come out exactly as planned, a few surprise us, and one or two go on the seconds shelf.