I have to say, right at the beginning, that i am not reaily a potter for whom the firing has become the excuse or reason for making pots. Actually, it is the reverse. From the moment a pot is 'finished' I tend to iose interest in it. Almost all of the creative thought processes have already been implemented at that point. I have decided upon decoration and, more often than not, the decoration is already in place. I have made a decision in my mind about what glaze, if any, the pot will have. In my own mind, to all intents and purposes, the pot is finished. It seems to me that pots never look better than at the leather-hard stage just after the finishing, final touch - fresh, firm, moist and pristine. The thought of committing it to the fire is, at this point, still confined to the very back of my mind. My only concession to, or consideration of, the fire is to have a vague plan that should result in the correct number of pieces to carry the varied assortment of glazes to suit the shape and very slight variation in temperature within the kiln.
展开▼
