I started early, and it was as much as I could do to stop for a tea break or even lunch! Adding the colour to these large pieces was very absorbing and a whole day just flew by.
I started off by wet packing, adding washed and wet, ground enamel to the background areas of greens. Wet packing meant I could move the enamel around and have some control over where the different greens ended up on my copper. I’d also textured, cut and shaped some circles of copper, as well as some copper wire which I embedded into the clear flux underneath.
Once the greens had dried and had been in the kiln, the fun could really start. Even at this stage, I still had to plan which I was doing and in what order I’d fire the colours. I knew that the red would need to be fired last. I also added decorative elements to add interest and colour. There are glass threads as well as copper discs and some tiny little copper and silver circles from when I made the holes for the rivets. To give texture I also found a few colourful glass beads.
It was great fun and the large Paragon kiln was much easier to work with than my usual Kitiki kiln. It gave me an even heat inside the kiln and more room to manoeuvre. These large pieces just would not have fitted in my other kiln.
Usually I make notes and keep track of the colours I use and the temperatures I fire too. As I got further into the day, my note taking stopped.
When I knocked over a whole pot of Lapis Blue enamel powder onto the carpet I knew it was time to stop for the day.
