Groundhog Day in Seagrove

First of all big thank you to the North Carolina Pottery Centre here in Seagrove for letting Dan and I fire the groundhog kiln. We figured no southern pottery experience would be complete with firing their style of kilns.
This is a small one 8 feet long of stacking space and 22" high at the height of the arch. Pots are laid on a bed of silica gravel so they require no wadding. A piece of cardboard was the only comfort under Dan as he loaded the kiln. These kilns were perfect for jugs and crocks but I broke the cardinal rule( tall and thin always gets in, bowls and plates sit and wait)  and made large bowls. At least we stacked inside of them. The silica gravel is probably the only easy thing about these kilns. You have t crawl in there belly d0wn while someone passes you the pots from behind. You also have to set thru the firebox to get to the chamber and then if that ain't enough y'all ya g0t t0 g0 t0 the r00f t0 set the damper which is some old pieces of roofing steel. Hey my o works sometimes but mostly not that's why the 0.
Chad Brown dropped around to give a tutorial on how to set the grates and the firem0uth. Thanks Chad. Started the kiln at 5:30 this m0rning and should be blasting 0ff ar0und 1pm. The fuel is the size  quartered trees.
Beautiful day here 17C and sunny.

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