Disappointed, But I Shall Forge Ahead!

This would be a really nice bowl had the glaze come out o.k. :(

The last kiln load turned out mega-sucky. Bubbles appeared in the glazes, but didn't burst and smooth out. One of my more stable glazes (Laguna clay's Agate) ran. My gloss black bubbled and is not glossy. My normally winning combination of Turkish Amber and Robin's Egg Blue did similarly poorly.

So now, the troubleshooting point has arrived. Is it the kiln not hitting temperature? I'm going to start with that, and re-fire at a higher temp after I make a trip to Home Depot to grab some grinding equipment to grind down the glaze drips, first.

Other theories presented to me have been that the clay, itself may have had its formulation changed and it doesn't work with these glazes any more. Change to a different clay. I actually had a different clay in there, and it had similar problems, so that's probably out.

This is one that's really disappointing, as it's a nice mug.

Of course, I've needed these pieces for Napa, as I don't think I really have enough, but it is what it is. I find myself wishing I was plain old faster at throwing! I see other folks who are potters who are putting forth a much larger body of work because they're faster (read, more competent!), and I envy them!

It gives me something for which to strive, anyway!

Hey, any potters out there who can help me troubleshoot this nonsense?