survived the first firing

[smkie]

now to use iron oxide, and some high fire glazes for the collar and straps, eyes and nose. Then it will be a worry and fingers crossed for the gas kiln. Then back home to have a tangerine orange glaze on the vest and fired to o4 in my electric. This was imo the most likely to crack firing so so far so good. My little owl got a surface crack (dang it) but Nameless is completely intact.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Awww, he's super cute!

 

[NicoleLJ]

WOW I love it. How much do you charge to make one?

 

[smkie]

I only do these for organizations I support so they can use it as part of their fundraisers. They are hard for me and I am still learning so it takes too long..

 

[NicoleLJ]

If you ever want to branch out to selling to indivuals let me know. I would love a Service Dog one of Sheena in vest. You are very talented.

 

[SarahHound]

That is beautiful!

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

Oooh, yay! I'm so excited! I hope the rest of the firings go as well. Thanks again for making him for us!

 

[smkie]

I will know by Tuesday if all is well with this firing or not. Good luck Sandy. Hyia finally named him since no one else was offering.

 

[Barb04]

Looks great! What's his name?

 

[smkie]

Sandy

 

[CharlieDog]

I wish I had an 1/8th of your talent. That is amazing!

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

Ohhhhhh, yay!!!!!!!! Sandy is a lovely name, and he looks great!!! I hope everything continues to go well!

 

[smkie]

I should know later today.

 

[Romy]

Auuugh the suspense!!!!! Is he okay?

 

[smkie]

Nothing is going as it should. I won't go into the details of the arguement from the weird lady that ended up putting it in the wrong place in the kiln not according to my instructions. I can still fix it, but it will now require stain which I have been told is not cheating, I have pieces that I collected photos of from Ceramic magazine where stains are used in sculpture. I just really try hard to be a purest in my medium. Everything fired fine structurally, just not the shade I wanted.

THe muzzle is clean and white so I got whoever's fingerprint of iron oxide off enough that it did not show. A community guild is really frustrating for me, especially having to leave my stuff out in a public place for anyone and their brother to pick up and handle but for now it is the only access i have to a gas kiln. I am looking at another facility and am thinking of contacting the college here and seeing, someone said someone has a gas kiln out here that is used by a select few. Sandy is still in the making, and I apologize for the delay. I could paint the vest but I really want to go for glaze so I will be making a trip to Brackers on my birthday to get two bags of specific clay, the orange glaze for the vest, and a low fire underglaze for the lettering. After that it won't take but 24 hours to fire and ready to go.

I try to tell people it's a long slow process and iffy every step of the way, which is one of the multi reasons I do not take commissions. Who wants to put in that much work and have someone say "oh...I want it to be....." it is what it is when it comes out and that is just part of it. But Sandy has been fired to around 3000 degrees, and everything held well. So give me another week or so and Sandy can come MhMR way.

I was happy to see that the minute gap under the crossed over leg went down level in this last firing to where I had it originally. You have to dry clay carefully to make sure that it doesn't' curl up and rise, so drying from the top down is essential.

 

[Renee750il]

I wish I had an 1/8th of your talent. That is amazing!

Don't we all! Actually, I'd settle for 1/16th and be thrilled and grateful, lol.

 

[smkie]

if it took up your bedroom and your living space, you might consider it a curse. Like smoking you just can't give it up. Worst part is i have half done things I want to finish, and I know if they get too far put away, it will never get done. More than I would ever confess to. I use to leave something in front of my desk must to irk me until I got back to it, but now, those are stacked up and in boxes. then comes all the things you want to do before you croak.

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Renee750il]

That's one thing about the metal work . . . all my odds and ends are small Now . . . there's a whole basement and another room full of earthenware and porcelain stuff, but part of that room also has the kilns I use for metal, too, so I guess it takes up a bit of space as well. If I can ever get my big old drafting table set back up to work on

 

[smkie]

there is nothing small, or easily contained about clay. i thought it was bad when it was acrylic and canvas. paper is nice, paper is light and friendly and easy to store. Ah well. I have to get the glazes down once a month and check the moisture content, same for stored clay. So much gets wasted because people get side tracked and then reach for a container of glaze and ohuh...it's a rock. This is a little apt so doing this here is dumb, but i am dumb so be it. It is me, I am it and that is all there is. i am as careful as i can be. I sweep up with a shop vac with a special bag in it so we don't breathe the dust, and I keep a clean sort of work area. The fact that I can contain what I do to 4 feet 7 ft long is doing pretty darn good for what does get finished. My son at one time hated it, he thought our home should look like his girlfriend's. They had one of those Macy's decor showroom kind of houses. He was just a teen, but it hurt. I would like to think what hapens on my desk is a little bit magical. At least it is to me, birds and owls and dogs are born here...doesn't that count for something? If I don't get back to the paint by Feb I am going to put it away for good. It's been a year, I am tired of staring at it. I need a studio, well let, with lots of windows, and space, and time. Tons of time, and energy but with what I know now, so going back in time would not work. I wouldn't sacrifice one for the other.

 

[Romy]

Smkie, you're part of a very special class of people with a strong drive to create. I used to think everyone was like that, but most people aren't. I wish you could have the studio of your dreams to do your work in, but the fact that you don't and you do it anyway is a testament to your spirit. I can't wait to see Sandy finished. Sorry that the process is going longer than you planned, at least he survived the firing!