A report form the battle ground

I have done back to back firings on three consecutive days. Glaze-firing - bisque and glaze, again. I'm working hard and long every day. I have to. An exhibition is coming up!

WHITE BALANCE

3 - 29 March 

MIDORI TAKAKI and ALAN EMSDEN

The Sunbury Embroidery Gallery

The Walled Garden, Thames Street, Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey
http://www.sunburyembroidery.co.uk/events.htm

Are you in Surrey or near there? Please pop in!

My studio is a battle ground. After the 1st glaze-firing, it's a battle at each stage. I do multple glaze-firings to get colours right, as you can't remove colours on ceramics once fired, I can only add little by little. Yesterday morning, I found that turquoise blue glaze had become green! I planned everything on pieces with the turquoise blue in mind! I had battled through! They were fired for the second time today. I hope I will be able to see some improvement on them when the kiln gets opened tomorrow.

 A heat gun was yesterday's weapon. Once fired to high temperature, glaze won't stick easily. Chemical weapon was today's choice. 

I use nasty heavy metal for glazes for sculptures, (not for tableware, of course). I usually leave it until the end. They are so nasty that I kneel down on cold tiled floor and heat the pieces with a heat gun and brush them in order to avoid glaze splashing everywhere. 

Of course, nosey dogs want to investigate the hot heat gun and chemical weapon! :D And they think a little whippet sculpture I am holding is a bone! I have to keep them away! 

So now you know what it's like in my studio!  I was too preoccupied to remember to take photos lately, but I remembered to snap today's glaze-firing! 

Oh, hello there!