Ceramic Field Trip

We went to the Snake Kiln in Miaoli last week. It was originally called the dragon kiln but it was not allowed to be called the dragon because it was not allowed to be called the same as the king's. At first they told us about a small kiln that was used for making roof tiles. The smoke inside the kiln made the tiles gray. They then told us about how the snake kiln was usually made to bake vases. The vases made wine taste better because it had better clay. They also had stamps on the vases to tell what the wine was and where it came from.

The guide took us inside to show us the snake kiln. When we entered, we saw a long kiln with a door for throwing in wood, and a long funnel. At the front of the kiln, there was two holes that was called the snake's eyes. It was used for checking how much the clay has baked because in the olden days, there were no timers and they could only look in to see how the clay was doing.

We were given small blocks of clay to make whatever we wanted. Our hands had to be wet to keep the clay from cooling. I made a cup and Calvin ruined his and he ended up with blocks of clay that he called "abstract".