Coming Out of the Weeds

I've been in the weeds for the last couple of weeks with a custom order that was timed tight even under the best circumstances.  I was humbly reminded that there are so many opportunties for things to go wrong with ceramics.  I typically pride myself in avoiding potential problems given the experiences I've had over the last 20 years. 

Sadly, experience didn't serve me well this time around, as I lost over HALF of a 60 piece custom pie plate order with two different disasters.  Frankly, it kind of makes me sick to even quantify it that way. 

I lost a kiln load of plates when they literally exploded into a million little pieces when the pre-heat cycle on my kiln didn't run.  They were scheduled to "pre-heat" at 180* for 12 hours before ramping up to a bisque fire.  The pre-heat removes any extra moisture from they clay and prevents pieces from cracking or even worse, exploding.  Read the "Rose and Thorn" entry for the resulting images from the explosion that happened over Thanksgiving.  I have no desire to re-post that sad image.

After suffering a loss of 20 some plates, I needed to crank it up fast since I was back to the beginning on the order. 

We've had one of the coldest and driest Decembers on record here in the Seattle area, which means low humidity. Normally, dry weather is a cause for celebration around these parts.  Typically, having pots dry too fast is not a problem here, as we are famous for our wet, rainy and humid weather patterns.  It was so dry last week, that I lost 9 plates to cracking while drying.  *sigh*  I had made 5 extra plates just in case I suffered some problems.  Never did I imagine I would lose 9 out of a batch of 26 plates.  In my sleep deprived state, this was my low point!   *sob*

Nine Cracked Pie Plates

Fortunately, I'm coming out of the weeds and the end is in sight.  My family is happy, as they've gone through all their socks and underwear.  Laundry and Christmas - here I come!