The Kiln

 This was my first attempt at making clay pipes. Actually it's my first attempt making clay anything, also this is my first kiln ( I have some experience with polymer clay). I thought about buying an electric kiln (for about a second) but that just didn't seem right. Too sterile for me. No real heart and soul. Real flames lapping and licking at my creations, that's what I wanted. What I needed! It all started this past winter when I was kicking around the idea of making a wooden pipe to smoke some tobacco. Someone ( Sir Robert Williams) suggested making a clay pipe. That sparked a frenzy of pipe making. I had (have) no idea how to make a pipe . I didn't even know what kind of clay to use. I bought some clay at a local craft store and made 30 of them.  I set them on the shelf and waited for spring and the snow in my backyard to melt. Once the snow melted I bought some cement blocks and a few bags of sand from Home Depot and built myself a kiln. I had no plans other than building a square box to hold heat and fire. I used patio blocks and sheet metal to close up the top, once the fire died down.  I buried the pipes in wood shavings and some scraps of wood left over from all the oak and maple battle hammers I made over the winter. I started the fire around 10 am on Saturday. At 9pm that night it was still putting off heat, so I left them in overnight to cool off gradually.  Sunday morning I eagerly open up the kiln and dug out my treasures. To my surprise they all turned black. I assume this is due to massive overheating! Who cares. Anyway, about half of them didn't make it. But half did, and I love them! They are my children. I can't wait for my next firing!