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firing the mother

updated mon 16 aug 99

 

Merrie Boerner on sun 15 aug 99

Hey....fellow woodburners,
Once again, several potters have gathered in this small Mississippi
compound to fire with wood. One friend came two days early to help with
glazes and anything else that was required to service 11 visitors. We made
glazes and prepared the site. My wood was already in place. Another potter
had helped me collect and stack wood a few weeks ago.
We stacked a huge amount of pots into the Mother and lit her up at around
6PM.....there is no problem in bringing the heat up.....so we tried stoking
slowly the first few hours...but the first shift just happened to be
stoking virgins, so they lost control......and things are hotter at this
point than I had planed....we will see what has happened by 3 AM at my
stoking shift. But for now, I'm exhausted and must get some rest.
I helped to stack about 500 pots into the kiln this morning...very
exciting to have such a variety of work in there burning red at this
point.......
I only thought that my peak of excitement was when the people began to
arrive yesterday, with license plates from so many other states. But the
best part is seeing how 11 total strangers can work together toward a
common goal with such enthusiasm and patience !
Only potters !
More later, Merrie