About Sunnyside Pottery Studio

Ninth and Tenth Glaze Firings

Pots from the 6th glaze firing October 13, 2021

June 10, 2023 - I'm well into year two of making pots in my new studio! I was so busy at the end of 2022 with shows and holiday sales that I didn't have time to post about the last two kiln loads of glazed pots.

This is the second kiln load of cone 6 stoneware and porcelain that I've glazed in 2023. I primarily used the glazes that I mixed and tested in my previous glaze firings, with a couple of new glazes tested each time to expand the color palette.

I fired seven slightly larger vases in the most recent kiln load, lots of mugs, bowls, and both dinner and salad plates . I photographed several pieces from these two kiln loads, which you'll can see in my gallery and also on Instagram.

Sixth Glaze Firing

October 13, 2022 - This is the second kiln load of cone 6 stoneware that I've glazed. I primarily used the new glazes that I mixed and tested in my previous glaze firing.

I'm very happy with the results of these new glazes and plan on mixing up a new glaze or two with each new batch of pots to glaze. The new glaze I tested this time is called Sunshine Wiggles Yellow. I wanted a yellow glaze and I couldn't resist the name! You can see it on the rim of the cup in the top left of the photo.

I fired some larger pieces this time, two covered casseroles and a lidded jar. I still have to photograph the pieces from this kiln load, but once I do, you'll be able to see the photos in my gallery and also on Instagram.

Fifth Glaze Firing

Pots from the 1st cone 9 glaze firing December 30, 2021

September 10, 2022 - I've been so busy making pots that I forgot to update the website, so I'm skipping over the last two glaze firings and jumping to the fifth glaze kiln. This kiln was filled with an assortment of stoneware pieces.

Since this was the first kiln load of cone 6 stoneware that I glazed, I also tested a lot of new glazes, some commercialy available and others that I mixed up myself from the raw glaze materials.

I had three different kinds of stoneware clay to test out. All three were a nice toasty tan color, but two were speckled clays. The speckles make a big difference in the appearance of the glazes because the speckles show through most of the glazes, and I love that look!

You can check out photos of the new stoneware pots in my gallery and also on Instagram.

Second Glaze Firing

March 11, 2022 - The second glaze firing was completed with the help of the new Skutt KM-1 Wall Mounted Controller.

The KM1 Wall Mount Controller is an upgrade that we added to our old KilnSitter controlled kiln. We mounted the controller on the wall, plugged the kiln into the back of the controller, plugged the controller into the wall outlet and installed a thermocouple.

When I was ready to fire, I turned all the switches to high, placed a cone in the KilnSitter 1 cone higher than my target temperature, set the timer and pressed in the plunger. The controller cycles the power to the kiln on and off to run my desired firing program.

I've used the new controller for both a bisque firing and a glaze firing and it has worked out very well. I like having the ability to program in a hold in temperature, and also that I can have it calculate to cost of each firing.

It's pretty to awesome to have the luxury of an automatic kiln after years of working with an old manual model, and I have the added benefit of a KilnSitter as a backup!

Finally! We're up and running!

The first glaze kiln filled with cone 9 porcelain has been unloaded and there were a lot glaze tests, glaze combinations, and exciting results.

December 30, 2021 - I'm happy to report that the process of building my studio is complete. Well, almost… There are a few finishing touches to wrap up, and some equipment that's still on order, but the important things are in place and functioning.

My 45-year old Brent potter's wheel and Skutt electric kiln have been completely refurbished and they are both as good as new. The studio is relatively small, only 12' x 24', half the size of our 2-car garage, but it's a good size for one person to throw a few pots.

I'm producing cone 9 porcelain to start, primarily because I've always loved porcelain, and I have a couple hundred pounds of very well-aged porcelain from my old studio in Rhode Island to use up. I'll be switching to cone 6 clay bodies, porcelain and stoneware, once I work my way through my stock of cone 9 porcelain.

Sunnyside Pottery Studio is a new venture for me. I studied ceramics and sculpture when I was in college at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), but I've spent most of my career in other areas, including; jewelry design, corporate communications, web development, and teaching college courses in computers and technology, desktop publishing, and web design. I cover some of that career information on a different website: MaryCodd.com

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