So, after just a year of thinking about throwing full time, making a business from it, it seems to be moving ahead. It's great to have full days to throw and amzing to see how much can be achieved when your not stopping and starting for other jobs etc. It amazes me how quickly the days go but I know part of that is the day dreaming I'm doing whilst throwing and if not that the books that are being read to me from my kindle. That said, I love throwing!

Practising techniques continues, here a lidded jar, I love the pot bellied shape, just got to get my proportions right on the lid and the level it sits in. Next step is teapots, I'm doing research to figure out shapes I like and how I want them to look.

This is the kiln's control panel, it monitors the kiln for me, I'm testing the pyometer at the moment to see how accurate it is as I think sometimes it over fires, to do that you use 'cones' which will curl over at a given temperture, so you do lower, on and above 'cones'.

I've been asked what's behind me in the pottery and it's one of my favourite paintings that Jon completed, 'Snow on the Long Myund'. It's a large oil painting. There's been a lot of snow recently and we ran up the Myund yestarday. If you don't know it the Long Myund is a high area of undualting hills, they locally call it 'Little Swizterland'.

And below, the melted cones, the first set are from a biscuit firing and that looks spot on but the second set are from a glaze firing and I think the kiln is firing too high, I've changed the setting, refired over nite so we'll see when I open it if it makes much difference!