We fired the electric kiln in June and experimented with new glazes. Dauna had quite a few pieces that were ok, good, or not quite up to par in regard to the glazing. So, against traditional clay firing wisdom, she re-glazed and re-fired them.
They turned out pretty well, for the most part. The first pic shows about 80% of the kiln load.
Three of the bowls below were newly glazed, one was re-fired. Can you tell which is which?
If we didn’t already know, we couldn’t have figured it out, either. Thumbs up for the results!
Re-firing, if you haven’t guessed, is when we put another layer of glaze over the existing fired clay piece and fire it at a slightly higher temperature than it was originally fired. There is a risk of glazes running or an explosion, so you have to know whether the glaze stays put or tends to run as a rule.
Fairly new glaze that turned out very nicely on these white sconces.
Newly glazed, in case you are wondering.
This little sconce, on the other hand, had first been fired in the raku kiln. It was a sort-of metalic silver color which Dauna didn’t like a’tal. Since she prefers sconces to be somewhat pretty…. she thought this might look nice re-glazed (or at least be no less wasted than the rather ugly self it had been).
That’s Dauna’s philosophy, by the way: If it doesn’t turn out the first time, try again. If it turns out, great! If not, it becomes a pot for potted plants, catch-all dish, or yard art.
Another beautiful piece first raku fired then re-fired.
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Once in a while, the result isn’t quite what we’d like….
This piece went in with a glaze that was pitted as if it hadn’t reached temperature (at cone 5). At cone 6, it came out just as pitted, but with new, large bubbles in the clay body itself. It looked as though it should have exploded, but it didn’t, nor did the glaze smooth out the way we thought it would have.