Right. The kiln is cool enough to crack open. Do it. The four inch bowls are nearly finished!

They may well be stuck together, especially if you have stacked them up. A good way to prevent this is alumina in between each foot, but the bowls rim to rim often stick anyway.

A stack of stuck bowls.

This is the device for separating your bowls. It is essentially a stick.

To get them apart you just hit them with your stick.

Usually you only need to hit them gently though.

If you have not cleaned the rims off well enough and a blob of glaze is attaching the two pots you may be in trouble. Soaking in hot water can aid them releasing.

Once this is done, you may find some sharp bit on the rims or bits of flakey kiln shelf stuck to the bases. This can be remedied with a c arborundum stone.

A fresh carborundum stone

The stones after some use.

You rub the stone along the rough or sharp area and it wears it down like sand papering wood. This can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the blemishes.

Right then. Here we are. Finally. Below are some of my finished four inch bowls.

Blue slipped with a matt white (more like shiny white) glaze over the top.

These ones were slipped with an iron slip, combed and then covered with a celadon glaze.

 

Excessive number of pictures but I feel like its been a long road getting to these finished bowls.

You will be pleased to know that I have now actually left four inch bowls and moved on to making beakers. I have only made 30/40 so far. They are a whole different kettle of fish.