Daily spewage of a bitter mind.

I spent a good portion of Saturday working in my art/craft room.  Last weekend I had finally purchased some hot glass and was ready to start playing around with it in the new kiln.  I spent time slapping together my first project, a glass plate.  Something simple, something colorful…

10.5 hours plus a few hours to cool down, this popped out of the kiln, which made me happy.  Not perfect, but pretty good (I think) and I learned a bunch too which was a bonus.

Sunday, I prepped the mold I was going to use to shape (or ‘slump’) the newly created disc into a plate.  I brushed the mold with a kiln wash and placed it in the kiln.  The wash I was using needs to be heated to 500°F before using it.  When the pink turns gray, it’s ready.  About halfway through I heard a small boom in the kiln.

When the kiln cooled down enough to open, this is what I found…

The plate actually exploded and flung apart.

So much for making for finishing my project! A whole weekend wasted, I was pretty down about it last night since there was just nothing I could do about it until I get a new one…. and study up on what I did wrong. I never used a clay mold before, so it is most likely my own fault. Did I heat it too fast… did I use the wrong kiln wash… who knows!

No plate until next weekend most likely

~ by dmoola on March 15, 2010.