mother forgive me.........it's been two weeks since my last confession.....

i've been really remiss about reporting, and i have made lots of discoveries in the last couple of weeks.  first of all, i had a class, with one actual student, and we made ' my heart has wings'. (not pictured here)  we had cracking of the bronze, and sintering falure in the part around the dicroic glass stone, and i've been trying to figuring out why. sometimes i think it's the luck of the draw, but..... my piece pulled away from the hole cut for the glass, a bit, but, my student's completely pulled away, and failed to sinter properly.  i now think lavender oil is essential when making paste, especially if you are adding a fair amount of water in the construction process.  and, lavender oil in the clay as i condition it, seems to make the bronze stronger after firing, especially when i'm firing at a lower than recommended temp.  i know alot uf us are superstitious about this, but i did not have good experience with olive oil, highly recommended though it is.  i used olive oil in the clay for 'penrod and the windy day' (pictured above), and had some sintering failure there, too.  i find i like to fire at a lower temperature.  at about 1490, i get lovely irridescent, and tetallic patinas, and at the recommended 1550 for three hours i get mostly black.

next up......a leafy tiara in the making!  these are bronze clay leaves, before firing.   and.........