Trials & Tribulations The kiln was ready in September and we organized a party to do the firing which would take about 12 hours. Liz had a video call with David Dawson beforehand, to glean whatever knowledge he could provide about this process. We also watched videos of Guedelon again. We needed to figure out a complicated stacking pattern based on David Dawson's archeological research, and Tom Justin and Nick Fondiller worked a long anxious day to stack the kiln. Since the kiln is an updraft, the flames eventually shoot out the top, and it is so hot in front of the two firing chambers that one cannot get too close. Hoses were nearby and we regularly sprayed down the grass around us. The firing progressed from larger timber dimensions to smaller in order to get a higher heat progressively. The kiln needed to reach Cone 04 or about 900C to make the tiles hard. Aha!!! But what about the glaze? (Stay tuned). We fired until the eleventh hour (literally), and in the middle of a lovely song, the top part of the kiln collapsed and all the tiles tumbled out! Horror! We all stood in shock. Nothing to be done as the tiles and kiln were red hot. A slightly subdued party continued, and we resolved to evaluate and learn once the tiles had cooled. It turned out that the ware chamber we had made around the tiles was only one brick thick, and this did not withstand the expanding heat of the kiln, thus pushing the walls out. Fortunately, almost all tiles were intact. The glaze had not melted, but we had gained a bisque firing, which in theory reduced risk when firing again.. David told us we didn’t get up to temperature and would have to get hotter the next time. In order to melt the modern glaze we would have to fire to 1100C, more than what was needed for the terracotta alone Yes there was a next time! In July of 2022 we resolved to try again. Liz got some pyrometric cones to see if they would help gauge the temperature afterwards. A huge amount of work to split all the wood. Thanks to Jazmine Carroll for most of that effort! We organized another party to tend the fire, play music and general camaraderie. This time Anthony Bates and Jasmine had the task of the complex tile stacking challenge. We knew what to expect now and Liz was determined not to under-fire. We had a surplus of firebrick left from our masonry stove project and used them to surround the ware chamber, plus a second layer around to prevent the wall collapse. Much sturdier! We worked through the 12 hours and knew that the flames shooting out of the top of the kiln needed to be yellow in color. We maintained that for two hours and then declared finish. Later the next day the kiln was cool enough to uncover and see what happened. This time we were hopeful, and achieved partial success in some nicely fired tiles, and a good deal of failure in ones that were burnt, congealed and melted into a huge unwieldy mass. It was clear we had overfilled in our enthusiasm to reach the glaze temperature and surpass it. Most people were disappointed, but once again we learned. Unloading the kiln we had about 200 useful tiles and the rest were too warped or fused to put on our tower floor. The year prior we had already realized that we couldn’t make all 800 tiles by hand, so thankfully had ordered some plain terracotta tiles from Spain that were the same dimensions as the ones we made.This was a saving grace, and partially funded by our BIM Fisheries Local Action Group grant (thank you!). In the fall of 2022, Liz resolved to lay the tiles as planned, using as many of the handmade tiles as possible. First we had to level the floor better with some lime mortar, since the underlying LECA (clay vermiculite) was very rough. Next we needed to lay the tiles in a bed of NHL 5 lime mortar. The tiles need to be soaked in water, else they absorb the lime mortar too quickly and don’t set properly. On this project, Jazmine and Anthony helped lay the tiles and it took three days. The tiles need to set for a while, and then Liz mixed NHL 3.5 and added some red and orange oxide pigment to color the mortar. This would not have been a general period practice, but we knew the grout would have a lot of foot traffic and this would help it not appear too dirty. Once they were grouted they needed to dry again, and then sealant containing beeswax was applied. The tiles got a bit of a patchy appearance, whether from sealant or lime mortar absorption was not clear. Over the past three years there has been some damp and water in the tower. Initially it was difficult to clean the tiles, but we have learned that a little vinegar in the water really helps bring the brightness back. We wouldn’t bother trying to seal or polish them again. BUT, we still had a 150 unfired tiles in a tub, and could not accept leaving them in a raw clay state - over time they would melt back to clay with any damp, and too much work had been done by too many people. So in May of 2024, we did it again - three women and a kiln finished them off! This time it was very low key. Liz and friend Gari Garrity repaired the kiln - the clay mortar crumbles after firing, and especially the arches were fragile. We wiped and scraped off the glaze. The variable of the higher temperature needed and the glaze melding all the tiles together was too much risk. We decided to accept the unglazed tiles as a safer approach. So once again, we preheated the kiln with coal in the evening, and the next morning went to firing. Gari and Liz took turns feeding the fire, and in the afternoon Veda Crewe arrived from the USA - our artist friend from painting the tower. Veda cheerfully joined in, so we spend the day and evening tending the flames. This time Liz knew we couldn’t fire too long. Better to accept intact tiles at a bisque level than an over-fired mess. Later in the evening Gordon came out and we had a celebratory beer by the kiln. No singing, no party, just DONE. Another reason for getting the tiles finished was that we wanted to turn the kiln and clay pile into an outdoor medieval kitchen area, and the kiln would end up being used as a hearth, but probably covered. This would limit the use as a kiln in the future. Thankfully (to the high heavens) the tiles came out perfectly - a little light but bisque fired at least. We were not planning to put them on the floor, and in 2025 Liz placed the remainder off all good (and some not so good) on the wall of the lower hearth room garderobe so it can be a melange of medieval patterns, similar to various churches. After three firings we learned that the darker, higher fired tiles bonded better with the inlaid (white) slip of exact unknown origin. It was donated by a local Wexford potter. -Apparently the white clay preferred a higher temperature. The darker tiles will naturally be stronger. Broken bits of tiles were incorporated into the new brick oven built near the kiln, and we plan to make the fused tile sculpture into a centerpiece. It is awfully heavy, so will likely stay outside. Air Water, Earth and Fire, as well as human and organic matter went into this project, so we call the sculpture “Energy”