Monday, November 19, 2012

Copper Experimentation

A week or so ago I took my copper out of the kiln earlier than I normally do, it was about 500 degrees. When I rinsed it under water it coughed and sputtered, but with a few swipes with a wire brush I really liked the results. Much more rustic than when they are tumbled to a high shine and then torched.


Although I was pleased with most of them the results were fairly inconsistent.
So when I fired a load last night I tried something else, I did take them out of the kiln while hot quickly quenched them in cold water then I gave them a very quick tumble, no more than 5 minutes.
I liked that too!



These were ok but I thought what happens if I torch them now...



LOVE!!!
It softens up the bright sort of brassy look the copper can sometimes get and give it a soft iridescence,
a soft matte glow.



Here's a grouping, the 3 on top are given a micro tumble and then torched,
2 bottom micro tumble only.



Here's a comparison of a long tumble, bright copper that has been torched on the left and
on the right, micro tumble then torch.
I've created this piece and the first piece at the top of this post on Scratch Foam,
 here's some info on that in case you missed it.

I love that you can do so much with copper, it's like a Chameleon!
I hope you enjoyed my little experimentation!

Here's some more I posted on My Blog that I fired last night using micro tumbling.

Kristi

13 comments :

  1. I like the subtler effects you got with your experiments!

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  2. That piece with the ginko leaves is just stunning, Kristi!

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  3. They are all beautiful! I do like the matte finish and it's more rustic look.

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  4. I love the new finish, Kristi! I love the colors copper gives when it's torched and I really like the new finishes you're getting. My rings that I ordered came in late last week and I love them. Don't know exactly what I'm going to do with them but they will be used soon!

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  5. Wow! How fascinating! Love the "chameleon" term you gave to copper - seems so true! They all are beautiful in their different ways!

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  6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the micro tumble/torch look. YUM!

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  7. Love the look and that ginko leaf piece is to die for!

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  8. Wow! What a difference! I love the new micro tumble finish!

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  9. love the soft look of them! how fun- now you can make the same thing, and have two completely different looks at the end:)

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  10. Creativity on fire! These are stunning Kristi! I soooo need to take a break from buying clay and get my hands on some of your art beads! Love them!

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  11. I really love the effects you got too. I love the softer look of the micro tumble!

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  12. Incredibly beautiful! I am not familiar with micro tumbling. Can you tell me how that differs from tumbling with shot? amazing art!

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