Last night I was planing on leaving the studio early but stayed a few more hours while the kiln was cooling down so I could unload and load another glazed pieces. This morning the studio is warm with the large kiln still running. On a cloudy day like today the studio has a cool pearly light. One firing at a time as the finishes pieces come out from the kiln I spend some time staring and examining the finished pieces like I see them for the first time. I knew them so intimately while building them on a wheel. Heat gives them a life and transforms them to something new, which could be a happy surprise, a continuing mystery or a disappointment which sometimes is a lucky one where I would learn to love after a few days or a year but other times is just a process of moving on to the next.