Fired the kiln.  No trouble with the firing, but.....DUH!!!  It's going to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r to cool down!!

I went out to start the kiln last night, and when it knocked the breath out of me how hot it was at 9pm, I decided.....maybe tomorrow!  
It's tomorrow, and if you can believe it, it's supposed to be as hot--but with a higher heat index--117--today! I think I'm going to try to find a space helmet so I can breath!  JK.  I am going to start my kiln today.  I am interested to see how the heat affects the firing.  I've never had to give much thought to how the heat affects a firing!  Conversely, I've given A LOT of thought to how the extreme cold affects it.  (It's actually more of an issue for the computer on the kiln than the kiln.)  BTW, the pieces I made two days ago have not even begun to dry.  I think they--like most people--are refusing to do any work, and are simply conserving energy until the heat breaks!  (The break comes on Thursday!! Yea!!)

I think I will begin to pack up my studio today.  That is going to be a huge challenge!  Since I have done quite a bit of teaching, I have a number of kids pieces on my shelves!  Each one of them is precious but space is becoming a premium!!  (If you've ever been in my studio, I know you are probably saying, "Becoming?!!  You've been out of space for years!!")  I have rented a storage space just for Altaredartist, so even though I won't know where anything specific is, at least I'll know where it generally is!

My awesome system administrator uploaded new photos for me.  They are in the gallery tab.  

I'm glazing like crazy right now.  I'll post photos just as soon as I get this next kiln load unloaded.