Manny, the Manabigama

Fall is upon us, and winter is approaching. This means a decrease in wood firings until the weather picks up again: nobody wants to load a wood kiln in -30C.

Last week I had my second firing at the Hamilton Potter's Guild Manabigama (I lovingly like to call him "Manny"). It was also my last firing in that kiln for the season. At the end of August, I fired it for the first time with four lovely women - two of whom I knew from Sheridan. The first time you fire any woodkiln, you can't expect much. With each firing there is so much to learn about the path of the flame, the hot and cold spots, how to reach temperature at an efficient, but steady pace, and which glazes look good where, if at all. But after seeing the results from that first firing, I was convinced I needed to fire this kiln again.

So, I participated in the second firing last Friday, with the hopes of reproducing some of the nice effects that I received the first time around. There were four of us on this firing, and the weather was perfect - cool in the morning, and warming up as the day went on. It was a beautiful day to be outside firing a kiln.

The results, as always, were varied. I ended up with a couple racers, several so-whats, and of course, some seconds. The beauty (and sometimes the trouble) with wood kilns is how unpredictable they can be. It is common to end up with a lot of seconds, and you can only bank on getting a couple FANTASTIC pieces out of each firing (if any). I was lucky to be content with most of the work, though many pieces I need to re-fire.

The end of the Manabigama season has come to a close, but I'm still helping Marcelina Salazar fire her soda-wood kiln. The next firing is the end of October. Until then, I'll make more pots.

August Firing - Firing #1

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September Firing - Firing #2

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