Turnin and soon Burnin

We have been making pots as fast as we can, but sadly throwing away more than half of them because this clay is so bad.  I am really starting to get the hang of this stuff though.  My pots are not perfect by any means, but they are getting there.  We are glazing and maybe loading the wood kiln tomorrow which means alot of working and creative thinking for me in the next little bit.  Glazing is one of my weaker sides so I am going to have to work hard to learn and get better at it.  I have not done far outside of the catawba Valley NC style of glazing, and I am looking forwarding to broadening my view.  I hope to be able to find some real ash somewhere so I can put some good ole traditional recipe stuff (and tweak it a bit) on my pots.  I also hope to do some glass work on there as well.  Today consisted of alot of grinding off kiln shelves and mixing up glazes for some, but I was able to get a days work in (not much considering the clay).  Jeff showed me how to make a functioning coffee pot today that I cant wait to make.  I really think people will like them because they are so functional.  We are going to Yixing next week for a few days because it is Chinese holiday here and all the professors are taking off.  I am very excited about that because I really enjoy teapots and hope to pick up some good tips and tools while I am there.  It was a bit cooler today than it has been and I think everyone worked a little harder because of it.  Glazing and firing is on everyones mind right now, and I am very excited to see what all of these people put in and take out of this kiln.