Ravishing reds.

I've been working in cone 6 clay and glazes for the past 7 years and I have never been happy with the red selections. The commercial glazes available always failed to impress me,they just seemed so blah. When I finally returned to the roots and started making my own glazes I quickly learned why electric fired reds just fell flat. Reds are just temperamental (insert comparison to redheads if you dare). They like a special condition (at least the ones I like) a condition called reduction.

Cue choirs of angels.

The electric kiln just can't provide that. Well it could but it would require drilling a hole in a perfectly good kiln and pumping propane in at various times, and while I have done horrible things to electric kilns that are no longer in service. I just couldn't bring myself to do that to my pretty beast. So I set out to build myself a kiln that fired fast, fired efficiently, and would give me the fix for my addiction. What you see here is a result of that hard work. A beautiful oxidation green glaze, stable and elegant attacked viciously by the beast of reduction. It is the start of what I know will be a very satisfying relationship.

So raise a glass of red to your favorite red (or redhead) and share in the joy.