Firing in the Rain

I was able to get all the raku vases, cups, and bowls dried enough to fire. I loaded them all into the updraft kilns and started warming them up. As I did, thunder was heard in the distance. I have fired in the rain before, so this was nothing new. These were bisque firings. So they did not need to be monitored as closely as the glaze firings.

The rule is that as long as all the moisture is out of the pots, things will be fine firing even with wet, damp kilns and shelves. I found that out when pressed for time some years back at 3:00 am. The time I almost quit because I felt overwhelmed and a bit depressed about how things were going, but pushed through. Since that terrible time, all the times since have been easy, as nothing since has compared to that dark and rainy night.

Our hardships help us push our limits and remind us that bad times do not last forever. We just need to know where to put the tiredness, anxiety, and stress, and keep pushing on, maybe taking a little break to make a plan to work through the dips and untangle the knots. Many of my hardships come from my own making, as I do procrastinate and don’t make pots to build an inventory. All of that has since changed as I have been good about making pots each day. I am on a four-day streak of making pots a practice. Having an inventory will allow me to keep making pots fun and exciting.

It took some time, but in the end the kilns fired out fine, and now I just need to prepare for glazing and then unload both kilns. I try to mix and strain all the dipping glazes before each use. The lighter color glazes first, then the cobalt, and the iron glazes last, as iron and cobalt tend to stain everything. So today it will be a push to get glazing done for a morning firing after work, so that I will have pots for the Abington show and the local Harford Fair.

If I were living yesterday a second time: I would have put on a raincoat to turn up the kilns.

Things I am grateful for: My courage to push on slowly through the hard times and find solutions to problems and manage situations sometimes.

If I get to live to be 86, I might only have: 12599 days left.

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