At 3:00 am, I woke up in horror, realizing that I used a rack that I made from cone 06 clay to fire my new happy cone six glazed pieces that were ablaze in the kiln. Ahhh!!! I had horrible visions of the rack exploding and wires and glazed pieces all sproinging about and sticking to everything including the kiln, or the rack melting, or, or..... Ahhhh!! So I put my coat and boots on over my pajamas and trudged to the end of the driveway over to the shop to check on the kiln. It was shut off, and I couldn't see any signs of disaster. I had to look and see how everything was or I knew I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. I took a quick peek, and thankfully it looked as though nothing catastrophic occurred, and the rack didn't explode or melt. Phew.... I shut the lid and went back to bed.
The only thing that happened was the rack cracked, and one pendant stuck to the rack. It could have been much worse, so I'm Very relieved. I was spared, and that was a lesson well learned.
Thankfully, the rest of the pieces turned out fine, and I'm really excited to see how these Coyote glazes look on the tan speckled clay! Various Beads and Dangle Earring Pieces
Oasis Bird with Turquoise Matt Wing
Almost Teal Bird with Butterscotch Shino Beak
Last but not least, Gun Metal Green. This color is Really gorgeous.
I'm off to try out some new colors!
Those are gorgeous. I can picture them in jewelry, very nice.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, I think it is great that we are both trying out cone 6 at the same time. It is so much fun. I will post pics of the glazes on the porcelain soon. Bisqued a few last night.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Cheryl - that's the best compliment. :) I know Mary - I can't wait to see your glazed porcelain pieces. What took us so long to try cone 6? Very exciting! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat pieces! They look so beachy in this clay. Totally digging the birds. And so glad accident was minor.
ReplyDeleteI love Coyote glazes. I yet have to try these colors though. Someone mentioned some of them being runny I wanted to add ones with the names Gun metal Green, Blue Purple and Rhubarb, no matter what clay I use, it runs.
Thanks Yoli! Glad you like the birds, and yes, major relief that the accident wasn't as bad as it could have been. Good to know about the other glazes that tend to run.
ReplyDeleteWow! You were lucky! I didn't have that kind of luck when I did something similar a couple of years ago..... I love the turquoise the best! I also love the gunmetal green. I've used it on porcelain and it runs too much! I'll have to try it again on stoneware sometime :O) That was a great firing!
ReplyDeleteI know MaryAnn! I was Very lucky. I had terrible visions of what could have happened. Sorry to hear you had a similar but not so fortunate experience. I know I'll make a very conscious effort not to make the same mistake again. Perhaps gigantic signs by the kiln might not be a bad idea. :) So far the turquoise is my favorite as well.
ReplyDeleteOh wow!! Lisa, even though I'm not really a bead maker I have to say I love your beads and the way you combine those glazes! I have been working with Mary http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com/ at her studio and I haven't been brave enough to combine colors yet...next time tho!!
ReplyDeleteNice results!!! OMG - I hate that feeling of terror with kiln firings that wake you up from a dead sleep… SO relieved that everything turned out beautifully though!
ReplyDeleteKeep testing! Oh, and don't forget to link up some of your posts to this Friday's BOC blog post with your results. That speckle tan clay body is pretty cool looking!
Thanks Cait ~ Yes, I'm definitely all about mixing colors. Love to experiment with that. These cone six colors are all new to me so it's fun seeing the results.
ReplyDeleteMe too Marsha - I can't believe nothing more serious happened in that firing. So many little details to think about when you're working with both cones 06 and 6 I guess. I'll be sure to link up some of the results Friday. Thanks :)
Love your new colors Lisa. I'm jealous. I can only low fire earthenware for my kiln is so old...need to get the elements updated. Your work is wonderful. Thanks for all the great information. WIll come in handy when I get back into high firing.
ReplyDeleteHi Gerry - Thank you! I know - I love these colors too. I'm having fun experimenting and finding out my favorites for future pieces. Sorry to hear about your kiln elements - I hope it's not too much of an ordeal to get everything updated.
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