Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Dragon pendants

            Since the firing this weekend, I've been taking some pictures for you. (And also flinging bubble wrap and packing tape and boxes everywhere while packing up your pieces to send out, but that's a different post.)
            The first of the dragon pendants came out of the firing in fine shape. Here they are ready to put in the kiln:



            And this is what they look like now:




            It looks like there was some variation in the red clay. The darker ones were sitting next to pots or test tiles glazed with Mottled Spice, which makes me think that glaze fumes something that sticks to the pots around it. I didn't expect that. I like the variation, though.
            Much as I like the red clay, I think the porcelain steals the show in this case. The porcelain dragon pendants are translucent.


            Some lucky person will get this one, which is the thinnest of the batch. The others are also noticeably translucent, mostly in the area surrounding the tail of the dragon and in the wings. The best way to see this phenomenon is to take the pendant into a dark room and place a light behind it. The soft glow is remarkable.
            If you think this is cool, check out Margaret O'Rorke. She makes amazing porcelain lighting structures. I hope to see her work in person some day!

4 comments:

  1. Regarding the translucence... woah very cool. Ditto to Margaret O'Rorke's work. Do you have thoughts/ideas/dreams of more translucent work? (in the distant future)

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  2. Yes, I do want to do more with translucent porcelain! It's so beautiful. Remember how I was talking about wine glasses a while back? Well, now that I know just how thin the porcelain needs to be to be translucent, I think I can make translucent wine glasses! How cool would that be?

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  3. Very cool! Dragons with a hollow where you could place a smokeless candle would be fun too. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes out of your kiln when the kickstarter rewards are done.

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  4. That is another idea. I've been thinking about candle holders, but haven't really thought specifically about designs for them yet. You backers are keeping me busy! (I don't mind, I got a kiln out of the deal!) :) But what is a smokeless candle? I must go Google that. I was thinking of normal candles.

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