kiln dread (/kɪl, kɪln dred/) adjective. Describes the fear, apprehension, and extreme reluctance potter's feel before opening their kilns after a glaze firing.
I have my ways of avoiding bad firings. I never load a kiln when I'm tired, in a huge hurry and stressed out, or have been drinking. When I'm programming the kiln, I make sure my attention is 100% focused on what I'm doing. If I have any feelings that a piece is not quite right, I don't load it until I have time to double check it. And I make deals and beg with god. Despite all of this, every once in a while I look at a cooling kiln and I think, "I do not want to know what's in there". One time, I accidentally programmed my kiln to hold at cone 5 for 13 hours instead of 13 minutes. Talk about major kiln dread. 
I know exactly what you mean. I cross my fingers and wave them in front of the kiln and think "Please work out" before I turn the kiln on. It's scary
ReplyDeleteThis made me howl with laughter because I can relate to it so much. It is such a specific kind of anxious sick feeling you get before opening certain glaze firings it definitely deserves its own name!
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