Christmas day firing

So, I did a bisque firing on Christmas Day... Not quite as sad as it sounds, I had it all packed up the night before so just popped down to get it started early in the morning, then turned it off sometime between chopping brussel sprouts and putting the potatoes in the oven.  Two very important things cooking that day, although one considerably hotter than the other.  🙂

This was largely a test firing of some new bits and bobs I'm trialling, so I'm pleased to say that it went well.  There's a dozen or so of the first of the miniature bases to come through - a new line that I'm testing out - but more about that later when I have some photos.

I've also got a new clay that I wanted to take for a spin, a high-fire terracotta for the kusamono pots (and another in-the-works project).  Here's a piccy of a handful that came out of the bisque:

They're looking rather orangey at the moment, but I expect that to fade to quite a dark red once they're fully fired.  Haven't decided yet whether I want to put an iron oxide wash over them like I do with the others, I'm going to fire this batch up and see how they look, and go from there. 

Hoping to get the gloss firing going tomorrow, I worked hard over the Christmas weekend to get enough pieces ready for it and I'm *really* eager to see how some things turn  out, especially this:

I don't want to be counting any proverbial chickens before the all-important hatching, so I won't say too much about it in case it turns out to be an unmitigated disaster, but let's just say... The floor could be lava.  😉