Barrel fire with my pottery students!

A chilly November barrel firing with my students. Snow in the morning made me consider canceling, but we decided to go ahead. 

Everybody worked hard to get that fire going, and we decided to do a fairly short, one hour burn. We were well rewarded. We experimented with strands of horse's mane hair, given to us by Wendy M. Thanks Wendy!

More photos to come when I have more daylight.

Not a student but want more information about my pottery classes in Seattle?
Visit my website: Barbara Dunshee Ceramics

Open Registration for my Winter 2015 (Jan-March 2015) Seattle Pottery Classes begins Monday, December 8th, 2014.  

Summer Workshop: mid July 2015. Details to follow. Email me, Barbara through my website www.bdpottery.com to be put on my notification list. 

2014 Summer Handbuilding Pottery Workshop

Summer Hand-building Pottery Workshop

Saturday, Sunday & following Saturday

July 12th, 13th & 19th

10am-3pm

$235, includes all materials.

Registration information at www.bdpottery.com

A lively group workshop fashioned with hand-building techniques that you can use almost anywhere.

We'll start with the wonderfully organic methods of pinching and coiling to create our forms. We'll add slab work, designing with paper templates and a myriad of original textures.
The following Saturday, we'll finish our bisqued pieces with various glazing techniques and, given time, we'll create some single fire works by the methods learned the first weekend. All works will be final fired for later pick up.  

Winter 2014 Seattle Pottery Classes

Open Registration begins December 2nd, 2013 for 2014 Winter Pottery Classes in Seattle with Barbara Dunshee!
10 week, small group classes starting the week of January 6th. 

For schedule and updated availability, visit my website: Barbara Dunshee Ceramics

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Tiny test firing of barrel pottery "pit" fire.

Not a student but want more information about Seattle pottery classes? 

Visit my website: Barbara Dunshee Ceramics

For the "pit" firing with my students this weekend, we are using a barrel!

First we (thanks Paul!) cut the 55 gallon drum barrel down to size. It's now 23 inches in diameter and 24 inches tall. 

I then drill about 26 1/2 inch holes around the base and four in the very bottom, so the fire gets some good updraft.

I place spacers and a broken kiln shelf over the four in the bottom. The spacers are for additional draft.

For this mini mini firing I sprinkle a little sawdust in the bottom

This face I'm wrapping with salt soaked rag, a little copper tape.

This face gets a little stainless steel  scrubby and a dried banana peel

I nestled them face down in the sawdust sprinkle on a little red iron oxide and add a little bit of dried grass around one of them

On top of that I had dried pine needles 

I had some fine tingling that had been painted with a little whiteTempera. Temper it is not for  effect it's just what I had

A few sheets of phonebook paper crumpled

Light that and add some cedar scraps

For this mini mini firing I'm letting it burn about 30 minutes

And then I'm placing an upturned oil pan down over that small firing to keep it in reduction

And letting it smolder for another half an hour

Smoldering

Removed the oil pan to find pretty good combustion during the short test.

Faces rinsed and scrubbed. Some nice blackening, a tiny touch of green and some subtle iridescence. I'm pleased with the way the barrel handled the flame and combustion. I'm pleased with the look of these pieces. I'm pleased that they didn't crack! Not bad for a quick test! We'll see if we can do even better on Saturday!

Layers in the kiln. Students' works.

Five layers this load.

Seattle Fall Pottery Classes with Barbara Dunshee

2014 Fall Pottery Classes in Seattle with Barbara Dunshee!
10 week, (9 week + Final Saturday Party!) group classes starting the week of September 29th. Open Registration begins Monday, August 18th, 2014.
http://www.bdpottery.com/pottery-classes-seattle.php
Visit my website: Barbara Dunshee Ceramics
http://www.bdpottery.com
http://www.bdpottery.com/pottery-classes-seattle.php

Work by Students of Barbara Dunshee Pottery

A few samples of students' works, fresh from the kiln!

Not a student but want more information about Seattle pottery classes?
Visit my website: Barbara Dunshee Ceramics