Wood Mouse and Kiln Firing

Brenda on top of the wood pile

Wood mouse spotted a Joseph Sand's kiln on Saturday night! I say "wood mouse" because I felt like a small mouse scrabbling around on top of the gargantuan pile of wood, high off the ground. I did a 6 p.m to midnight shift on Saturday, getting the kiln up to 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though the air cooled down, I was still really warm working in front of the kiln and moving wood around. It felt so good to come home, peel off the sweaty dirt-covered clothes and shower!

Joseph's kiln quietly chugging away

Prior to the kiln firing, I recently returned from New Jersey where I was wrapping up the research end of my kiln project. Now to go through the 10,000 + images and compare/make sense of the whole thing! One of my favorite pieces of kiln furniture from a site near Ringoes, New Jersey from the 18th-century is this little gem pictured below. It is a triangular piece that I have seen images of similar pieces being made historically in the Raeren area of Germany. Marks on pieces where these are used show they were placed on rims of jars, as well as bases. Looks like they were cut out of a flattened slab of clay, as there are knife/cut marks on the sides.

Kiln furniture piece from Ringoes, NJ. Courtesy, New Jersey State Museum.

In other exciting news, I start the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts' Summer Institute this week. Their focus this year is the Southern Backcountry, one of my favorite topics. My posts may be a bit spotty over the next month, but I will try to keep you updated and share some of my adventures!