Heart of the Kiln

Posted Oct 22, 2016, 11:07:06 PM UTC

I got the idea for this after participating in a wood-firing in a ceramics class, which was a lot of work but also really fun.

As for the story behind it, the protagonists in my story have a wood kiln and use it to make a bunch of pottery, a lot of which they trade. Since there aren't any thermometers where they live like we've got, they had to find a different way to moderate the temperature, so the clay wouldn't crack but still would get fired proper. Result ended up being to put the young volcanic dragon in there for a while to feel if the temp was raising at the right rate, so now whenever they fire, this one has kiln sitter duty, lol - at least for the first stage.

Art and character belong to me. Don't steal.

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  • Oct 23, 2016, 6:08:31 PM UTC
    He makes a cute little thermometer. WinkWatchful blue eyes and an eager little toothy grin...

    Come to think of it, what all DID people use to measure heat for sensitive operations like clay IRL before thermometers? Was there some kind of a "is it hot enough to burn this thing yet" or "how fast does it turn a piece of metal red", or was it kind of trial and error and have you been working with it long enough to know by the feel+amount of kindling and time waited? Might be something to investigate...
    • Oct 23, 2016, 10:54:20 PM UTC
      Well, I know part of it was experience, and another part was specific rock-like stuff they'd put in there that would slowly melt. Looking at the rocks can act as a gauge of the progress/heat. Other than that, I don't know either.
      And thanks about my bab, but it's a she Wink
      • Oct 26, 2016, 3:54:49 AM UTC
        Sorry, didn't look at the rest of your recent uploads before commenting on her!
        • Oct 27, 2016, 3:44:45 AM UTC
          That's fine, it can be hard to tell if a dragon is lad or a lass
          • Oct 27, 2016, 11:30:28 PM UTC
            Unless, perhaps, you are yourself a dragon. Wink
            • Oct 28, 2016, 8:46:44 PM UTC
              Very true~ It would be interesting to show a dragon having a hard time sexing a different race, like humans.
              • Oct 29, 2016, 3:25:52 AM UTC
                Sounds like a potential short story for somebody.