BronzClay II

I had another great day 'playing' with the bronzclay. It was fascinating to see all our pieces come out of the kiln after 9 hours of firing. They were fired with 2 different types of carbon (the pieces are buried in carbon to block oxygen from the firing)- and each one gave differing results in terms of the patina it created on the pieces. My photograph of my pieces - still components - came out worst than yesterday's on my phone - but I'll attach a small one to show the variations:
You'll see that the two circular pieces in the middle are quite different in colour and have dark greens and blues in them - with polished high points showing up in golds (maybe you can't see - but take my word for it!!). They are leaves on one circle and flowers on another and will become earrings....one day. They were fired in the carbon derived from coal and it tends to give the darker colors. The other pieces (apart from the tiny I-don't-know-what at the bottom) - were all fired in carbon from coconut shells. It gives a lovely golden finish.
My birds and more sculptural pieces are firing tonight - and its a mystery to know how they will turn out. There were some surprises today - mostly pleasant - amongst everyone's pieces -and the favorite being some bells and "ringing" pieces! I tried a little noughts and crosses game today, some hand cymbals/chimes...and lots of other little things...can't even remember them all.... Tomorrow we'll pick them up - but won't be able to finish them off and polish them until I get home.

Looking forward to the start of the conference tomorrow.....