First Firings from the Open Kiln

Here's how the glass turned out. I'm still going to add copper accents/wire and other beads before the ornaments are complete. The second photo shows the true "full" fusing of three layers of glass. See how nicely the edges round off?

Today I finally received the tools and actual metal clay in the mail. The last two weeks had given me plenty of time to plan out a few things to try, so tonight I jumped right in. I can not show you the piece of which I am most proud (because it is going to someone who reads this blog and she knows who she is) but it is more design oriented and I actually set a firey gemstone into it. It turned out exactly as I had hoped it would...maybe better!

For now I'll share this photo with you so you can get the feel for what I am up to. This is pure silver, so once it comes out of the kiln it looks white until it is burnished or tumbled. These are burnished by hand, so they are not as mirror-finished as they could be but you get the idea. I actually want these a little more rough because I'm going to try a transfer technique on them tomorrow and there has to be some tooth to the metal for it to adhere. I'll share photos of my first transfers asap.




This metal clay is going to be even cooler than I had originally thought. I only wish I could afford ten pounds of it! Now I only have to decide which designs I want to make first. I am going to have to force myself to sleep tonight. Thanks for being excited about all this with me!