Post #776712 by danlovestikis on Tue, Jun 6, 2017 7:07 AM

hang10tiki you have such a kind heart.

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Wish List #7 and the Sacramento Crawl mug. More behind the scenes photos. There is some overlap with photos I have posted in the past. It's not always easy to organize when I take so many and post so often.

With the kiln unloaded and in the kitchen it was now time to scrub each piece. I started with the Black Velvet mugs.

After washing they go on the dining room table under plastic to keep dust from falling on them. Dust makes glazing defects.

I made all the Frankoma bowls and for days they have been in and out of plastic. They are now strong enough to turn over to let the bottoms dry. Even still it's only for 1 hour at a time then back in the bag. The same with every project that has attached parts or clay added.

The crawl mugs do not go into a bag but I do rotate them so that the bottom dries at the same rate.

I think this is a repeat of the HUGE Maori lamps that I have made.

The one in the middle and the one with round eyes have sold.

The first one with the floats is still for sale.

I don't wire these I just glaze them and off they go. I really enjoy carving each one differently. That's why I made a blank mold.

Every piece is sanded and fine tuned with carving tools before going into the kiln.

Dan has to dust them all for me while I work.

Then it is time to load the kiln. Bisque can touch each other so more can go into a load.

Each piece must be completely dry or the moisture will boil and explode the piece. When I'm not sure I do a 10 hour preheat and a 13.5 hour slow ramp. That will dry out the last bit of moisture and all the art will be fine.

Before starting this load I remembered that one of the Zombie Village necklaces had cracked in half.

MadDogMike told me about Magic Mend for attaching pieces and doing repairs so I got it out and added it to the top.

I stuck the pieces together.

The preheat will slowly dry this and so I closed the lid and turned it on.

I like to look at the drying table as I add more pieces. The volcano bowl is supported by a plastic tub so that the bottom will dry.

Close up.

A couple of days later the kiln is opened and the pieces removed.

I tried to break off the top and it stayed firm. Great save, thank you MadDogMike.

This is back tracking in that I've shown my solution to the lids cracking.

Too bad these won't work as Frisbees.

I am so lucky to have Dan's help. I am so lucky to have so many friends. You all keep me going.

Cheers, Wendy