Thursday, July 17, 2014

Green Muse, Refired

Normally I don't refire pieces but I decided to try it on this piece since the glaze was too light and didn't show any variation like it should.

I'm amazed none of the twisted ribbons fell off. I had to drive over the mountain to fire this pieces as greeenware. I put it upright in a box and gently put some bubble wrap around her. I'm calling her Green Muse and I'm glad I refired her. Here's what she looked like in the greenware state.

I took a couple of close ups to show you the variations in this soft green matt glaze. I think this glaze has to be applied rather thick.
I need to make a really tall and wide one of these pieces one of these days. This one's about a foot tall and two inches wide.

Darn, my cat, Barney, caught a baby rabbit.  I ran all over the yard trying to get Barney to let the rabbit go. He'd let the rabbit go and then catch him again. Finally the neighbor distracted Barney with some food. I got the rabbit and put him in the woods. He does have a bloody spot on his back I hope he makes it. Poor little guy. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

18 comments:

  1. That is a perfect glaze for that piece, they work so well together.

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  2. Hi Lori, thanks so much, I used it before and it was really light then on this piece it was light again hence the refire, I am just wondering if the glaze is watered down because the test tile shows it as having a bit more color. One of the things that happen in a community studio is the glazes can get diluted sometimes.

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  3. Good job on rabbit rescue. Reglazing is always a good idea. And it's so frustrating to count on glazes, no matter what, no matter where.

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  4. I've never tried to re-fire. What exactly does it do? Do you re-glaze or change something or just re-fire? Does it just darken it?

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  5. Good rescue. Sometimes my cat drops the chipmunk, which runs off, and sometimes he gives me "the eye" and leaves the yard with his catch.

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  6. Nice reglaze! It really makes the pot!
    Our cats no longer go outside as there are too many animals that would regard them as dinner! It's kind of a drag because they used to scare all the small critters out of the garden.
    Wild animals are not good for our domestic pets, to say nothing of the populations!

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  7. Hi Barb, thanks, yes I know the glazes I was using but not the community glazes.

    Hi Rian, thanks, the glaze was thin and pale, not what I wanted, I hoped to get more color. I just brushed more glaze over the outside trying not to let it run down, some folks heat the piece up before brushing on the glaze. I didn't and it worked, sorry I didn't take a photo of the before so you could see the difference. I think if I had dipped this one it might have absorbed more glaze making the re-fire unnecessary but since I am unfamiliar with these glazes I didn't want to dip it too long and have it run off the pot.

    Hi Joanne, thanks, Barney was giving me the evil face when I tried to deter him but he is so well fed he wasn't as aggressive as he probably normally is. I see the rabbit isn't in the woods in the same spot so hopefully he will heat and got away.

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  8. Hi Suzi, thanks, we have critter around here at night but I bring the cats in at night. Barney has lasted here for two years living completely outside so I think he is pretty wise to the outside critter. Cats take care of some small critters we might not want like mice and wood rats.

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  9. good news I came back and the baby rabbit is gone, I did see a small tuft of fur near the garage; I hope he's ok.

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  10. My fingers yearn to stroke Green Muse.
    Fingers and toes crossed for the bunny.

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  11. Hi Linda,
    I love the Green Muse and the glaze that adorns it. I find it worth while trying refiring if things don't work out the first time round. I have a dark tenmoko style glaze that is perfectly OK first time, but is so much better given another firing, this makes me suspect that it may be a glaze that could do with a hold at top temperature, rather than just climbing to temperature then switching off, and I will try that soon. It could be that your glaze might be similar or may benefit from slow cooling over the first few hundred degrees. I don't know what your glaze recipe is, but it looks to me (from this vast distance on the other side of the world!!) like you have some titanium dioxide in there, either in the pure form or as rutile??? and I know that titanium will form nice little crystals in a glaze if cooled slowly.
    Anyway, I really meant to say how much I liked the form of your green muse, she is tall and graceful, and quite human in proportion, and the twisted ribbons give her a great deal of life!

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  12. I, too, like the Green Muse.. glad it survived travel and re-firing.. I have re-fired pieces as well, and it is great when it works. :). T.

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  13. Hi Elephant's Child, thanks, these forms that I stack are actually very nice to stroke something wonderful about the feel of running your fingers over the texture, as if talking to the muse or the muse talking to you.

    When my cat got the little bunny he cried out, it was heartbreaking to me.

    Right now in the night air I can hear a raccoon or some such calling out with a melodious chortle.

    Hi Peter, thanks, I'll have to check on the recipe for this glaze. If I had fired it myself I would have slow cooled it and it might be interesting once I get my kiln connected up to try this same glaze here at my home to see how if fares.

    Hi Trish, thanks, I hear you, when it works. Ha.

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  14. Interesting look to the glaze. And ouch to the poor rabbit.

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  15. Hi Gigi, thanks, oh the poor rabbit, he cried out and I was in tears.

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  17. Hi

    Great work, Linda!
    The Green Muse looks very beautiful and at the same time very powerful. I love the name the Green Muse because it sounds like the Muse of ecology. The form of her reminds me of a little bit of the remote past when humans were in harmony with nature, not knowing any pollution.

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  18. Hi Sapphire, thanks, these pieces just evolve as I am making them telling me what they want to be and when I make them their personality comes out almost immediately, as you say powerful, her pale glaze does indeed feel as if she is in harmony, understated and suggesting how we should be in harmony with the earth again.

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