I have undertaken my first solo glaze firing in my gas kiln. Aimed for a heavy reduction to test if the results I had in University were reproducible. Due to some minor character difference in my new Kiln I had mixed results. To put it simply some promising results, some bad, and some ugly. Unfortunately the whole of the bottom shelf was under fired and oxidised. 
 
After putting my detective hat on and reviewing my pots from the kiln and the graph plots for the firing  I think the issues are due to; 
1. Momentary uneven increases in temperature between 600-1282
2. The stacking of the kiln shelves.
3. The use of too much water in my glaze recipe.
 
With this information I can make some minor changes to my process that will hopefully make a huge difference in my results. I cant wait for the next one.
Stay tuned for Garage Studio: Firing 2!