Its All in the Firing...

Little Mahoning Creek Pottery

And once again, the wait is on because literally IT IS all in the firing...well, all the work is cooling in the kiln that is. Nancy is unloading the wood kiln this evening and I will be heading back there on Monday to check out the booty! I have a whole lot of work in this load...Nancy said she peeked in and only saw Kyle, Kyle, Kyle! Woohoo...GO KYLE!

 We did have a good firing this past Wednesday...I started the kiln around 3:00 am to prevent us from going too late into the night and it sure worked out. We had about a sixteen-seventeen hour firing on that breezy Fall day. And it was a pretty nice day to boot...a little rain and some clouds during the afternoon  but the wind kept pushing the bad weather away and we ended up with a beautiful, bright Autumn late afternoon...just the way we started the day. During our firings, I have made a habit of shooting pictures. I have a visual record of almost every firing of the wood kiln(both kilns) that I have been involved with there at Little Mahoning Creek Pottery. So, in between stokes, this firing was no different in that fact. The light was gorgeous in the morning and, like I said, when the afternoon cleared up, it was equally as nice. Little Mahoning Creek Pottery is idyllic especially in the golden Fall light. Today instead of showing you some new freshly fired pots, I want to show off the place where I have been firing for the last 4-5 years now. I think that environment truly influences the work...like a biscuit in rich and creamy sausage gravy, the flavor of the place where you make work can come through in the finished product. This  idea is very relevant right now as we have a big studio tour coming up on the 20-21. If you are in the Pittsburgh area/ western PA, I highly recommend making the time to travel the back roads and see the pottery studios, the super work, enjoy the Fall colors and visit with a bunch of friendly potters. The link for this is located on the sidebar or heck, just click here. If you want a better taste, here is the link from my post about the tour last year.

daybreak...the early shift

Nancy is firing the wood kiln one more time this week...probably unloading Saturday during the tour...get your fresh hot pots here!!! Hope to see your smiling face during the tour...October 20-21! Enjoy the pictures here then get out of the house and come see it all in person...

See Nancy Smeltzer in the Smicksburg Chainsaw Massacre...of hardwoods.