I've Kept You Waiting...Sorry.

I have just started another firing and I thought I really ought to keep my promise and take some photos of the results from the previous one. I have been busy this last week getting the house in order for Christmas. I have had to take half the kitchen apart to do so, so I'm not feeling too guilty! My wife is happy with the result so I can't ask for more!
Anyway, back to the point: The last firing. In it were two casseroles and a load of mugs. Only one of the casseroles survived as the second cracked. I have not had much luck recently and I think this is down to the cold and damp affecting the pots. I am checking them to make sure that they are dry but obviously they are not completely. The casserole that cracked, I thought, was fine after the biscuit firing, but after the glaze firing it had some crazing in the glaze which turned out to be cracks that ran through the whole thickness of the pot. This is it:

As you can see at first glance it looks fine. It just goes to show how careful you have to be at this time of year. The pots that have gone in for the latest firing I bought inside for a day and placed them next to a radiator to make sure they were fully dry before risking them in the kiln.

The above pic. shows the a few of the mugs from the firing. About half of them have blemishes from the copper glaze on them, but as a whole I suppose I should be grateful they didn't all explode!

Lastly I thought I would show you a couple of close-up pics of the black on black vase. You can see the faults better in these photos. The biggest issue is with the thickness of the burnished oxide layer. I should have sprayed it another couple of times to get a more even coat. The terracotta shows through a little in light bands. It wasn't possible to see this before firing as the clay is dark and the vase colour appeared even, as you may have seen in the previous photos I have posted. I shall know better next time. After all this is the point of experimenting.
Before I finish this posting I should tell you that I have had some success with a clock which was in these last firings. Unfortunately I can't show you it yet as it is a Christmas present for one of my sisters and I don't want to spoil the surprise for her, as I know she reads this blog. I have a video of the whole process which I will post after Christmas.
Thank you for visiting.