SAME PLACE ALMOST 365 DAYS LATER

It is that time of year, a place where I find myself year after year when I just don't feel like I can get enough work done in a day and certainly can not get pots dried out fast enough for bisque firings. Over the years I have taken to using the kilns to dry out my terra cotta pots thanks to a forgiving and all purpose terra cotta clay body that I have tweaked over the years. The terra cotta that I am currently using was originally from a formula that I got from Dick Schneider back at my CSU days though the current incarnation has be altered quite a bit to all for what I call shock drying which rarely results in any warping or cracking of the clay. Illustrated is a black and white slip tray that was made on a Monday and glaze fired on a Sunday thanks to this drying method. Using soft brick under the tray, I allow the heat to perculate up through the bricks and dry out the clay which can take a couple of hours but makes it ready to go in a bisque the very next day. From here it is simply about balancing out pieces, filling and firing the kilns and getting everything finished. There is never enough kiln space or time and I always seem to get inventories to galleries just at the last minute or a day or two late but luckily, for the most part they are very accomidating. Thanks.