Making pots is relaxing...right?

I get a kick out of people not familiar with ceramics saying to me when they learn I'm a potter, wow, it must be so relaxing. Yes, at times it certainly can be quite therapeutic and peaceful, but there are other times when it is beyond stressful. I encountered moments of the latter this weekend when glaze firing a very full kiln. It has taken me months to produce, bisque fire, and glaze everything in there, yes my kiln is huge. Things were going just fine for the whole firing up until the last 10 minutes. I heard a loud pop and then what sounded like heavy dust raining down, a noise not common when firing. So this is where the fun began. It was 2 a.m. and I was exhausted to say the least. All I wanted to do was peek in the lid and make sure my entire kiln full of work was not destroyed by little particles of kiln brick or a pot that exploded settling onto the melted glaze. But, of course when the kiln is over 2000 degrees, there is no opening it until at least a day later let alone when it is glowing hot. I tried to sleep, but visions of what I would see when I opened it were running through my head. Luckily the next day I was too sleep deprived to worry.When I opened it up this morning, after a much needed yoga class I was pleasantly surprised. Everything was okay. The kiln wall did break off a bit and it looks like some particles fell to the floor, but amazingly nothing was affected. I guess there is something to be said for embracing the unknown. Regardless if it was a total disaster or not, there was nothing I could do.
The most exciting discovery from this firing were some new glaze colors, bright fresh green to replace the chartreuse that was finicky. A lovely coral red, salmon, and my favorite bright turquoise blue which will make their appearance in my next kiln. Until then, I'll be posting lots of new work in my shop, like these terracotta planters from my old body of work, heavily discounted.