Lets Get Muddy

Seven months later...

My custom kiln is working !
This has been a bit of a nightmare.
No ..it has been a nightmare, it's just drug out so long the feeling of being trapped on this roller coaster from hell has become familiar.
But now this ride is over and I can move on.

Im thankful for all Ive learned about assumptions I make, my own inhibitions, the construction of this amazing kiln , the shortcuts companies make to save a buck and greed in general.

Now I can move on to my study of glaze chemistry... the reason for my choosing this kiln in the first place.

This kiln is an L@L Jupiter JD-2945-3 pull apart ...with a hinge...sorta special...and it has the new e-quad elements. This thing is a beast! It is 17 cubic feet inside with all the rings put on. The 9 inch rings can be added or removed to make the kiln whatever size you want. the pull apart option is a design for sculpture work as its easier to put a large piece onto the base of the kiln and add the rings than to try to lower a large piece into a deep kiln.
I was wooed by the pull apart option because I want to test glazes and the small Cress kiln I have doesn't heat evenly where this L@L will.

I have an engine hoist to move the sections.
A friend helped me assemble it for the first firing so today will be the first time Im flying solo and useing the hoist ...Im assuming ....humm there's that word again.. I have this figured out. But Im probably going to have to tweak a few things ... there's no way Im going to get lucky and have this work the first try.

The Little engine that could

In all honesty my mantra the last couple months hasn't always been '' I think I can... I think I can ", its been more like a stream of obscenities and self doubt.
Im rather surprised that my tenacity, (Or is it a tendency to be obstinate ?) is paying off!

The frame for my new raku kiln has arrived!

I have to modify my tiny peep hole that is hardly noticeable in the top 1/3 of the kilns door.Its a visual process to gauge the maturity of the glaze . I didnt think this through enough.This is the first kiln I've designed and it was hard to visualize , even with the help of a cardboard mock up . I remember the telephone conversation where the original dimensions were enlarged to get the most we could from the material , I could have had a taller chamber which in hindsight I wish I had of done, making the legs a bit shorter to compensate for the space taken in the bottom of the kiln for the burner and bottom shelves.All in all the final scale of the kiln is several cubic feet larger than my original plan.

Rumor has it that a 300 gallon propane tank could arrive Friday ! This is a huge relief since snow is finally in our forecast and I was going to invest in more small tanks that Id have to drag through the snow !

Now if I could only figure out how to keep my font from changing while trying to write a post!

I must live on another planet...or I wish I did.

I cant believe how chipper I was in my last post.
What planet did I think I was living on?
Like I really expected that I would receive the same customer service I strive to give those wonderful folks who buy my work ?

I am a naive.

The new Raku kiln I scored on ebay...well I wanted to get a manual and order some parts from Ceramic Services who made the kiln. They said get back to me..again and again...maybe he doesnt really want my business?
Guess Ill figure this out on my own... humm..

My dream L@L electric kiln arrived....
sorta.
All I have to say is stay away from Bigitsallyourfault.com.

My order had issues to say the least.

Then my propane guy who I adored was fired .
Some cooperate thing .

The new guy, and I have to say hes not from these parts , two weeks in town and trys to act like he knows the area and climate like the back of his hand , just came out and says I cant put my tank where I was originally told it would be, yes at the end of my 30 foot trench . That is if I want it filled when there is snow on the ground...here in Tahoe thats most of the year. Id have to put it on the other side of my yard .he just kinda laughed and poked his foot around in my flower bed saying ...''Hugh, the ground isnt THAT frozen...wont be that bad to dig a new trench ''....like yea the flower bed that is full of compost is the same soil as where the new trench would be. Oh and I personally have to move the tank into the back yard...me , myself and I, he said its not that bad just slide it on its side!
I called the office and the secretary was flabbergasted by what this guy said.
Hes playing by a new set of rules.
Im hoping that she can help work this out.
They have a 150 foot hose that will reach the original tanks chosen location ...no problem....
I dont get it.

There was a moment everything started to spin and I could swear I felt the think ice Im dancing on cracking and I thought..thats it..Im done for.
Why did I ever think that I could make this work ?
Better yet...why am I even trying?

Then I came in to check my email and there waiting for me were the most wonderful messages from folks who just received thier packages containing my pottery telling me how happy they are with what I sold them.
A gift.
I am incredibly lucky that I can make things that others want to have for themselves or give as gifts to those they love.
How I spend my time has meaning and makes the world a bit brighter.

Thats why I will keep trying....

This really is a fine planet .

18 inches doesnt seem like much...

Till you start digging...

Like all the other furry woodland creatures Im scurrying around trying to get all that needs to be done before Winter blankets the ground again with feet of frozen water.

I could have presented some pretty sunning before and after photos of what is turning into an awesome raku kiln yard...

if I could have stomached the before pictures.

Like so many things in my life Im rebuilding on the foundation of what seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight if I could do it over knowing what I know now....

Heavy sigh...

Last June as the snow receded it revealed a broken down 256 sq foot greenhouse that became the stash place for all kinds of..... things.

I really felt overwhelmed.

But thankfully that was just another feeling and had nothing to do with reality!

The short summer passed quickly and I find myself on verge of some major changes.

The greenhouse is gone as with most of the crap hiding in there and cement block pads are being installed within its pea rock footprint for two new kilns to stand on. One of my original starter kilns is dwarfed in this new yard.

Within the next few weeks I should have my 150 gallon Propane tank in place .

If I get this trench dug that is...its coming along but at a snails pace. 18 inches ...over and over again chiseling compacted decomposed granite and charcoal.

My yard was a giant burn pile, once upon a time... lucky me !

No really, I do feel lucky because Im not finding boulders the size of Volkswagens and there are very few roots.

The weather has been perfect! Just a few inches of snow.

I am very lucky indeed.

I have a 10 cubic foot raku kiln I got for next to nothing on Ebay that will move into place

once I line up some help to move it from the driveway to the back yard.

Im a small creature and can do most things on my own but this baby is beyond me !

It is a bit of a challenge to get help.

I feel like Chicken Little at times....

which is cool with me

because I dont like to share.

A friend of mine is going to weld a frame for another raku kiln Im building that will be about 23 cubic feet. Boy, I hope I dont have to drag that through the snow!

It all depends on how long the weather holds out.

My friend got a bit excited about the thought of putting skis on it instead of castors ...should have seen his eyes light up!

Its a Tahoe thing ...

And to top this all off as I write my BRAND NEW custom L@L kiln is traveling across the country ....wow just writing that gives me shivers of excitement. It almost feels like it is real, not just a dream.

Thankfully there is credit available and I will just continue to live off of Oatmeal for the rest of my life.

By the time the Aspens leaves fall I will leave the baby steps I have been taking on my muddy path behind. Ill no longer be confined by my limited equipment and move forward with the proper tools to get some serious work done!

Did I say that I feel very lucky indeed ?

Go Boldly - Atlantis!

Go Boldly - Atlantis! Just one more time..."It will free man from the remaining chains, the chains of gravity which still tie him to this planet. It will open to him the gates of heaven." - Wernher von Braun

Sad...the end of this program....
Three days of our involvement in Afghanistan is what it costs to fund an entire shuttle mission !
This country has some seriously messed up priorities!