Pot Melts out of the Kiln

I think its a success

The pots dont come appart

not a big deal 

Here are better shots of what was left in the pots and what the bottoms looked liked (it all came out as one piece)

bottom

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what they looked like with the pieces 

The first I only had to tap and the piece fell out as did the 2nd the third was a bit stuck but came out without too much effort
as you can see the ones with the black and darker colors came out way too dark to see the effect - but no problem the structure is right

the lighter color one - wow - I love it

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side

back

they are a bit thick but I am going to fire down and smooth the edges and thin it out more -  so I ground the edges to get any of the pottery clay off (where it slightly stuck) and sanded the back to get some of the shelf primer off and put it back into a kiln so I'll have that later today

but from this experiment  I can now figure out what I want to do -

I'll use the little pots - get some of my stainless steel  to stand it on instead of another pot  and possibly make a barrier with the stainless (like you get for making eggs in a pan - round ) and line it with thick fiber paper.

that way I can maybe get it lower to fit in the smaller kiln (although it does not matter for me but make it easier for others that have the smaller kilns)

or I am gong to make my own little melts - from an accident that happened when I tried to put decals on some beads
these are the pics of the results - they are broken as I dropped them when I took them out

I put on mandrels and fired up and they made their own melts

this would be great for small klns as you can sit and let them melt and see and have better control

Pot Melts - - almost out of the kiln

I just checked - still at 238 degrees - not quite cool enough to check more than lift the lid
but I am amazed - most of it did go through so I  am now hoping for a good turnout when I check under the pots

One looks like it almost all went through - the other two had left overs but they could have had a bit more in them - I tried to make them all about the same amount of glass

The shelf primer has turned white and looks good on the inside
cant wait now till morning to see the results

Pot Melts - not to be confused with Patti Melts

I've have wanted to do this for ages  and needed to buy the small clay pots but never have
Was at the dollar store on friday - picking up the canvases for the picture craft - and came across the small clay pots and grabbed three packs (two per pack for a dollar)  so even it doesnt work out no big loss but at least I tried.

I made the holes at the bottom bigger - used a pair of scissors to ream it out

 and I used a round file only to make sure the hole sizes were the same

I then put some shelf primer on the inside so the glass would not stick (this is the guessing part  - I hope it doesnt stick or put some of the primer into the melt)

Then I stacked them to ensure the holes lined up

Then the realization started when I found they were too tall for my regular kiln (I have two AIM  8 x 8) and they are not tall enough -  I have my trusty Kiln I got from Sundance glass  and it two was not deep enough -   BUT  I had bough an extender ring for lampworking so I could use this kiln for something more than fusing-
only issue was it had a fibre opening - so I cut up some blocks of kiln brick (feet of the kiln but I swapped out some from the other kilns) and made a fitting (pretty sure I have one brick around that fits but could not find)  so only about 1/2 hour delay

I put the clay pots (that are coated inside with kiln wash) into the now sufficiently high enough kiln

I put in some bullseye shorts I have around and some frit

I closed the kiln and started ramping slowing - started on low  then worked my way up the necessary temp
at least 1650
Waited and waited - got it all the way up to 1800 and decided to shut off - I'll see what they look like later but I think the hole has to be bigger - although it says to let it run high and let it sit for about 90 minutes - I guess slow drip down - but not sure


On cool thing I found at the dollar store was some findings for a cheese knife - they have cheesy (no pun intended ) clear glass beads - the end screws off and I can make my own glass bead to fit on.

I found a mandrel that is about the same thickness for the center so I might try this on Sunday 

Fathers Day Gifts

My daughter found a cool way to make some pictures for fathers day on pinterest

what you need
dollar store 8 x 10 canvas blanks  (not the flat ones - the ones with some depth and are stapled to the frame)
Hodge podge
Pictures that fit  the 8 x10  (we did black and white)
Black paint (again the dollar store)
foam brush
sea sponge

she painted the frames around the edges and a bit onto the canvas
using the foam brush and black paint

Let dry 

when dry apply modge podge to the canvas and the picture and glue together 

they already look amazing

when dry apply a coat of modge podge on the pictures 

once the cover layer is dry then you need to sponge some black at the corners and the edges

amazing !

I'm going to make some for my house (I got towels for mothers day - love them but would love a set of those ) 

Almost finished Zentangle Copper Pendants

I finished them off with some liver of sulfur - I like using this new gel form - easy to use

 and cleaned them up using the dremel , split mandrel and sand paper - dipped them in the permalac and hung them to dry -

 I have a fan going for air circulation in the studio  but it also helps in drying - only takes minutes

I found my engraved zentangle pieces - they are small 

The copper piece fits right into the open circle so I used it as a template

I grind it as round as  possible and keep fitting it in the pendant

I also ground the back thinner as well to get it more level with the piece 

decided I didnt want to have it too high

I use a regular inland grinder 

I set them with my resin - which is a two part epoxy and works just as well as glue 

they dont look like little spaceships any more 

All in all - I think they turned out exactly how I pictured them in my mind and I think they are finished 

I am seeing some possible wire wrapping around the pendant - holes - that double wire weaving etc..   I ll have to try something before putting extra holes in them 

some funky ideas

Still working on work table

I needed another outlet so I ran one to the table - idea was to move my lights over each side
I got the electric run but then realized could not move the lights as my daughter had my really tall step ladder
Then I remembered I had another workshop light I had bought but never used (didnt like the design - they hung funny from roof and had no off/on pull only unplug ) and put it right under the shelf and it throws some good light

I played with some cabs I lampworked  for the center of the new pendants - still not happy

Looks not so bad 

Look like little alien space ships - too tall 

from above - still not it 

I think I  know what I want but I cant find the dichro zentangle etched small pieces I made - I had them at the show and put them into another box as I needed the little box I had them in 

spent a half hour going through the show boxes twice and cant find - maybe today 

Re-arranging work area

Over the months things have been piling up on my work tables and at some point its so messy I need to clean up - I built a new shelf over the work table and cleaned up so now I can work without pushing things out of the way - I do have to rearrange the lights so its not over top of the shelf - possibly put one on each side

and I cleaned up my etching area- the table was stained with the ferric and it cleaned up using the lysol toilet bowl cleaner (the one with the goose neck - blue gel) 

same stuff I used to clean the sink and got all the stains off and a little on your fingers takes the stains out as well 

got a plastic table cloth at the dollar store and another cookie sheet to put under the glass container on the hot plate  and another plastic container to keep my chemicals in in case of drips etc..  so happy to have those areas cleaned up 

still have quite a few more areas to move around and clean up but now I can work on my etching better

But like I say - I can spend more time cleaning, moving things around and not getting anything made or finished  - but maybe tomorrow