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After a while I suppose someone decided they would make up kind of a good luck piece for each load of pottery that they fired, and so the Kiln God was born. Now before somebody gets their feathers ruffled, it has nothing whatsoever to do with religion, it was a make believe whimsical fun character sculpted probably from some of the wet clay scraps laying around on the tables or floor. I would guess that they would fall into the same class as the rabbit's foot or four leaf clover. The Kiln Gods were not all one shape, they were any shape from human, animal or make believe creatures. They were sculpted and dried but never fired and they are were always placed on top of the kiln before the firing was started and left there until the kiln was opened. I suppose if the load fired ok, it was the work of the Kiln God.

Eventually the kiln god will crumble because it is just dried clay that was never fired and a new one has to be sculpted. Some like to paint their kiln gods and some like to just leave them the gray color of the dried clay.

Below are some images I have collected of the different shapes of kiln gods that have been made and used. Notice that some firing Cones, new and used, have been used as decoration on the whimsical Kiln Gods.

A Bah Humbug Kiln God was made by a couple that had a pottery business and was always working late into the night and every weekend just to add a bit of humor to their work.

There is even a National Kiln God Show every year, I don't know exactly where it is held, or if it is held in a different locations each year, but pottery workers from all over bring their prize kiln gods to be judged. The judges look for different and unique kiln gods, all of the entries are of superior workings and techniques. Every entry seems to have a sense of beauty all it's own. If your piece has all of these qualities it will be judged for it's basic characteristic of an individual kiln god.
The winning pieces are the ones that repeatedly surface to reflect the artistic and whimsical aspect of the kiln god.

Like I said before they come in all kinds of shapes. Whether they work or not is all in the mind of the potter. After a few goof ups I made a Kiln God myself, and they must work because my kiln load came out perfect!!! Put a little make believe into whatever you do, whether it is your job or your hobby, it will relax you and help you to do a better job

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Have you ever come up with a good idea while working with your pottery or ceramics and thought that you would like to share it with others? You have? Well, why not send it to us and we will add it to the tips page for all to see.

There are signs that pottery and ceramics are losing appeal for a younger generation. There are pottery and ceramic departments closing in teaching institutions throughout the country. The common understanding is that younger students are reluctant to commit themselves to the intensive study required to master pottery and ceramics. Why spend three years to learn just one art form when you can pick up PhotoShop in less than a week? Pottery wheels lie idle as students flock to the computer labs. With all the stressful actions in the world today, releasing that stress through pottery and ceramics would be very beneficial to ones well being.