Dust Storm

The top image shows my garden this morning during the dust storm and the bottom image shows it this evening after the storm. The new shade cloth frame I erected a few months ago is prominent in these photos.




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Yesterday's kiln firing

The pot that I fired yesterday has several cracks and a part of its bottom fell off, but it still holds water and quite functional! I think the initial heating of the kiln was too rapid.

First firing of my kiln

In the last couple of months I have been building a small kiln to fire bonsai pots and tea bowls at home. Last weekend the kiln was completed and tonight I fired it for the first time. The temperature in the kiln went up to 1180 degrees Centigrade in one and a half hours, which was higher than I expected. I could have achieved even a higher temperature, but I had no pyrometric cones for higher temperatures. I'll open the kiln tomorrow morning. I hope the pot is not cracked.