June's Pit Fire

Well, I did it, not possibly the best idea to fire the pit in a thunderstorm. In case you didn't catch the hint...IT RAINED! I reached the pit and the skies were light gray, weatherman said i had until 3 pm, it is 9am so I began. I dug out the damage from the cows and began the layers, When I had about half the pit filled, the wind picked up. I was at a point of no return with out losing the chems and other materials so i continued as fast as I could, hoping i could get it lit and fully engulfed in fire before the rain hit. I didn't make it. My son was busy chasing down the tubs and paper as the wind blew them across the county. I lost several newspapers, a box of banana peels, and lots of paper bags. As i put the last of the wood onto the pile I was at nearly at 45 a degree angle against the wind. I tried lighting the paper but the rain had won, i was soaked. I gave up and headed to my parents to wait out the storm.
4 hrs later i was able to return to the pit, the cows that are in that pasture decide the wood pile was fun to climb on, there was a cow standing on top of the pit. It ran off as i got closer. The edge of the pit was caved in with hoof prints, I'm was sure most of the edge pieces were destroyed. There was also plenty of fresh manure on and in the pit, which is good in the storm i didn't throw any in. I did manage to get it to light. I let is burn for about an hour and I covered it since i had to get back to town for kids activities.
We went back this morning, and it was better then expected, there were only 4 broken pieces. Somehow the network of wood held the weight of the cow(s). The color were not as bold as our previous firings, I think the rain had rinsed the colorants either away or diluted them to lessen their potency. I post a few pics next week or so when i get them finished.

Rained out again!!

Well the weatherman was partially right, the rain was done by noon, but it was much more than the .1-.25 of an inch expected. Kiesha allowed me to take "her" good van in the field and get it covered in mud. The cows had destroyed the salt box kiln and trampled the wood pile. I guess the wood is "preseasoned" for the next firing. I cannot figure how or why the cows move the pottery shards all over the area. We are planning on trying on Tuesday again, it is supposed to be in the high 80's and 90's the next two days to dry the ground out a little. There is a still a 20% chance of rain in the overnights until then.

Here we go again....Maybe

Well, we are going to shoot for Sunday afternoon for a Pit fire. I cannot think of a better way to spend fathers day then roasting a bunch of clay pots over a large open fire. There is however a 20% chance of rain, but we will not worry about that. We will keep you posted....until then.

RAIN...

Well I was planning to fire the pit tomorrow to have a few more pieces for Brookings Art Festival, but mother nature has other plans. It has been raining most of the morning today and supposed to continue as scattered showers for a couple days. At least I have a couple more weeks left to fit it in.

Well, it was a typical Buffalo Days experience, cold and rainy. Although it was my first as an artist I have worked in a booth there for many years. Thanks to all of you who braved the weather and stopped by. I know I was soaked and chilled to the bone by 10 am. Our next show is Brookings Summer Art Festival on July 11 & 12. As for now we are in booth 79 in the NE sector of Pioneer Park, in Brookings South Dakota. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

It has been a busy week, here at Up in Smoke Pottery! We finally have caught up cataloging the first few firings. We have also packed up for Buffalo Days this weekend in Luverne, MN. We will be in the City Park from 9-4 on 6/6/09 for Arts in the Park. Hope to see you there. If I have done it correctly the photo box on the upper left side should be updated as well in case you want to see more of our work. I am also posting a couple pics of recent work.