Clay Art Center is Fired Up About its Brand New Kiln, Audrey!

On Saturday, June 4  Clay Art Center celebrated the inaugural firing of  its new Bailey Studio Deluxe Auto-Fire shuttle gas kiln “Audrey”  with a ribbon cutting for “Wheel of Flame” donors and CAC Artists, who made the acquisition and installation a reality through years of volunteer work and contributions. 

After over a year of trials, tribulations, modifications and improvements, we are thrilledthat the new Bailey Shuttle fully automatic gas kiln, lovingly named “Audrey”, is finally going LIVE! We deeply appreciate the support and patience of the Clay Art Center community while we made all the necessary improvements to the kiln room, which both allow us to use this beautiful new kiln, and help make Clay Art Center a safer environment.

To gear up for this exciting new piece of high-tech equipment, Jim and Anne Bailey joined us on May 19th to give staff and CAC artists a superior training and demonstration session.  We all learned a lot about the science of reduction firing – no longer the mysteries of reduction firing – and how to program the kiln.  Previously, our Studio Manager Rob Zilli worked tirelessly with Jim Bailey to test fire and adjust the kiln and the program, so that it will fire just right for our cone 10 glazes.

Special thanks to Jim & Anne Bailey, who did a fantastic write up on their blog about their time with Clay Art Center.  Read on: Article by Jim Bailey, maker of the Bailey Studio Deluxe Auto-Fire Kiln Audrey

Here’s to the start several years of successful firing, folks!  Thanks again!