Weekend Workshop - Britt & Bailey

About 25 people spent the weekend in Kingston, NY attending a workshop with John Britt and Jim Bailey at Bailey Ceramics.

This workshop came at the perfect time for me as I prepare to fire my second time in Lucille. We arrived Friday evening with pots to glaze. The place was all set up for us and though it was a bit of mayhem, it was fun to work with new glazes knowing we would see the results on Sunday. A couple of copper reds,  two celadons, a tea dust, two or three shinos, and an oribe and a black glaze were all available for our use.

Jim Bailey loaded the kiln (an automated down draft gas kiln- A.Mazing!) and programed it to start at 4:30 a.m. Saturday.  The workshop took place in the same room as the kiln! Due to his extensive ventilation system we did not melt in heat.  John would talk about glazes/glaze theory with periodic breaks to look at the kiln and its' progress, explained by Jim.

I can't tell you how much this helped me in understanding what I am trying to achieve with my kiln.  It also felt good to be with other potters who were beginners with gas kilns (though there were veterans there too).

Check out that blue box behind the chimney- that's the damper port, which is controlled by a computer program!


I got the chance to see emerald green flame out of the chimney, way cool!

At the workshop I bumped into Wayne Smith, a wonderful potter from Saratoga Springs. Potters are such great people; he shared tips and strategies with me as well. Check out his stuff HERE. Isn't it beautiful?

 Here Jim is demonstrating various flames based on fan/gas input. This is an example of what a reduction flame looks like. These demos brought to life what I am reading in the books- SO helpful!

 John Britt is absolutely hysterical! He has so many stories and manages to make glaze theory understandable and dare I say, fun??!!. He has a ton of experience (because he is willing to try pretty much anything) and he is extremely generous in sharing it.  If you have not already you need to subscribe to his blog.

His book : The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes is also fantastic. If you do not already have it on your shelf, get it. I have already started to re-read mine.

This is John discussing results. I'm not showing any of mine because I played it safe with my tests and, frankly, they were boring. Why do I do that? So afraid to take risks- and then I regret it. Oh well, lesson learned ~ again.


Have a great week everyone!