It is a tradition amonst artists to always be late, in a flux and panicking. So here I am, with five Christmas shows to get off the ground, listening to music, updating my blog; a nice bottle of wine beside me on the desk..
Truth to say there isn’t a lot else I can do until the kiln is cool enough to empty and reload which should occur around 2 am this morning…So, cheers, folk.

Smoke firing yesterday. The rain was horizontal and I swear I had sawdust in every orifice. The newspaper got damp before I had time to light it…But once lit the gale made sure the  dustbins were red hot and this morning I dug out the birds from the remaining ashes…                                                                                            

And here they are, the latest flock of Fat Birds. I have just washed them and placed them on top of my kiln to dry.
Apart from the comb and eyes the Fat Birds are unglazed. I daub them with copper, manganese or iron oxide before putting them in the smoke chamber, and the heat does the rest…