All I Need to Know, I Learned in "Kiln"dergarten!

I hope I have learned much of what I need to know about kilnformed glass over the past few weeks! Failure after failure has inspired feelings ranging from desperation to depression to determination. Yesterday may well have been the experience that put me over the edge. I had already begun wondering at what point I had invested too much to quit...or, conversely, too much not to! Last night, while tossing and turning, and reliving my frustration, I once again waffled back into determination. I decided that it was time to count my learnings just like I count my blessings. Here is what I have learned:

• DON'T peek!
• DO ramp up slowly on every subsequent firing...even if it is like counting the days until Christmas.
  
• DO anneal for a lot longer than you think. When a piece is multiple thicknesses, anneal for the thickest part...and then some.
• If you have different COEs of glass in your studio, you need to do more than keep them separate. Be sure you remember which one is in the kiln when you set the anneal temp.
  
• DON'T peek!
• All Superglues are not alike! Use the cheap stuff. It burns off. The gels do nothing but ruin an otherwise great-looking piece.
• DO take good care of your expensive tools.
  
• DON'T peak!
• Be patient. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your glass isn't going to do its magic very fast either. It's going to take all day, and some of the next to run through an entire firing and cool down of a sizable piece.
• When an element pin falls into your piece while firing face down, pry it out and just hope that it will smooth out on the flip and fire. Don't try to fuse something decorative on the back. Believe me, it could get worse!
• Go slowly, VERY slowly from the annealing temp to the strain point.
• DON'T peek!
• DON'T challenge yourself on BIG projects that take LOTS of expensive glass. Increase the sizes of your pieces and the degree of difficulty gradually. Give yourself time to learn each step of the way. (And, on this point, maybe you should consider not telling your husband how much you're spending!) And...
• DON'T expect great things when you've put yourself under a deadline!
  
• Scrub, scrub, scrub anything that was ground or cut on your glass saw.
• DON'T learn to cut 12" circles on a $30 piece of fusible glass...or a $28 piece...or even, a $14 piece.
  
• DO measure, and measure, and measure. A 9" circle is not the best size for an 8" slump mold no matter how proud you are of that circle!
• DON'T try to cut an 8" circle out of an already cut 9" circle.
  
• DON'T peek!
• DON'T expect that crack or break to heal and stay stable through 2 or 3 more firings.
  
• DO check your kiln temps. (I'm doing that right now!)
• DO put in a good long bubble squeeze at the proper temperature.
  
• Keep good notes...Okay, I did that, but didn't always trust them! It's bad when you think you're smarter than yourself!
• DON'T peek!
  

Above all, laugh about it, keep your chin up, research, ask questions of your friends at Stained Glass Source (It's really hard not got embarrassed after a while, though.), and whine to your husband...The glass of wine, the hugs, and the words encouragement may make it all worthwhile...That and ending up with a masterpiece!