V ist for Vitrigraph

Among the bounty of my haul at Christmas was Dan's conversion of my old Skutt ceramic kiln to a vitrigraph kiln. He mounted it on a stand that elevates it abut 4 feet above the garage floor with casters that allow me to move it around. A vitrigraph kiln has a hole in its floor that allows glass in a flower pot inside the kiln to ooze out the bottom of the kiln when it melts. You catch it on staniless steel trays and create really cool squiggles of glass in the process. I did its "maiden melt" today and am delighted with the results. When the pyrometer said ~1900 degrees the first plug of glass emerged, followed by about a pound and a half of strands of glass that varied from pencil-thick to threads that were a real challenge to capture with my tongs. I learned a few lessons that will make future sessions more productive, but all in all it was a great success. Thanks Dan!

Change The word of the day. I have had my own celebration of the day, but am enjoying vicarious experiences through Kyle's events. This, the guy who two weeks ago was going to sit out the chaos in DC, limiting his participation to giving shelter to his friends who were renting out their homes to visiting tourists in exchange for a portion of their bounty. Last night Kyle attended the Huffington Post Inagural Ball, and by his account will be receiving a magic tie from actor Ed Harris. I looked at photos of the attendees, and sadly didn't see Kyle's photo next to Martha's. Today while I was fussing with video feed in our building Kyle was trudging through the cold to his appointed location in DC for the real deal. We haven't heard what wlse he has gotten in to today, but as those of you who know him understand there are no limits to what this might be. On a closer front, Meltings also has changes underway. Dan has decided that our shared workshop/studio space has gotten too cramped so he is in the process of moving his woodowrking stuff to the space formerly known as the playroom. It now has laminate flooring and his tools are migrating toward it. I am anxious to see what options I will have for reorganization of my glass, should be fun.