2,195 ºF Kiln

 This is what white hot looks like.

Time Lapse

Since I had to repair and reload the kiln I decided to make a little time lapse video project of it. At least  I felt like I was doing something constructive/creative that way.

Meltdown at 1,750 ºF

NOTHING stops a firing dead in it's tracks faster than an element burning out. The kiln will not reach temperature so you have wait for it to cool, unload the thing, fix it, load it again then re-fire.

Of course the burnout also had to be in the vintage kiln I use with the harder to find parts.

Kiln Loading Week

Second level of the kiln loaded up with pieces for the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh. One more level to place then a slow climb up to around 2,200º Fahrenheit.

Rough mock up

I acquired this Unity Safety Light somewhere awhile ago. It was made in Chicago Illinois during the early 1950's. After some restoring it should make a perfect housing for the clock movement on this piece.

PBS

The 3rd episode of the PBS series "Craft In America" just ran, I'm just discovering it now. It's a really well done show featuring artists in their studios talking about their work. The 4th episode is scheduled to air this fall.

Arvin's Past

It appears this may have been  a well liked heater in someone's home at one time. While sanding this thing down to prep it for a new paint job I discovered it lived it's life as 3 different colors. The factory color was a medium metallic green. At some point it was repainted in a shade of  royal blue.  A final color change to muted pastel green was applied before his retirement.

Today we wouldn't think twice about just going to some big box store and buying a new heater if the color didn't suit us anymore. Kind of a shame.

Repurposing an Arvin

Sometimes the vintage parts I find for my sculptures are in amazing condition. Unfortunately the rest of the time they are found like this. Refurbishing parts like this can easily double the amount of time it takes to finish a piece.