Smithsonian Contributions - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

142
He bricks up front and
builds up fire; flames are
eventually seen leaping from
kiln chimney.
But, that kiln diere is about had it, it. . .
I know the shape that it's in. I know
what it's built of. But, for some reason a
kiln never burns good until it's just
ready to fall in. The front of it there can
be bricked up at most any time. It can
even be bricked up before the fire's even
started in it. The only thing about it is to
have enough draft to the front of the kiln
to keep the fire going good. After you
get the fire started, it takes about ten to
twelve hours to temper this clay out,
that's to keep it from busting and
cracking when it gets too hot. A clay has
minerals, such as sulfur and salt, that
has to be cured out. You have to judge
from the clay that you've been using and
the glaze that you've been using. Then,
you just keep building up die fire, you
know, to a crescendo, and when you
reach the peak on it, well, what you are
really looking for dien, looking at the
top of the chimney, when a blaze begins
to feather, begins to springle out, more
or less like a branch on a tree, and it
begins to turn radier white in place of
red, well, when it begins to do that, it's
time then to begin thinking about
looking on die inside of the furnace and
see what's happening, because it's just
about die time, then, for you to quit.
I could no more stop this than I could fly
an airplane. All of my movements, all of
my work that I've done all of my life has
led straight to this place right here. And
every time I come about it, I get just a
litde bit deeper into it. I'm about so deep
in it now that I can't get away from it.