As I shared in earlier posts, I bought a kiln a few months ago...a Paragon Caldera. My original intent with that purchase was to become proficient in base metal clay. At the time, the retailer offered an enameling collar (a kiln segment with a small door to attach to the basic kiln) but I didn't get it due to lack of funds. Fast forward...my sweet hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday!
Well, I decided I would break it in by enameling some copper shapes I had already been playing with...I've been working on a pin, a sugar skull, and just had a round copper disc...
They all still have fire scale and need to be pickled. They needed to be cleaner...the enamel didn't stick in some places and I may have overfired!
It is all a learning process, though! Keep following my journey as I work on this and more with my kiln!
How exciting to have a kiln! I enamel using a torch and while it's great it does have its limitations.
ReplyDeleteI find the easiest and quickest way to clean my copper before enamelling is to sand the side to be enamelled then soak in pickle for 10 -15 minutes.
I found the best thing for cleaning copper for enameling is Penny Brite and lots of scrubbing. Not my favorite part! The learning curve is steeper with kiln enameling but the results are worth it!! Great start, I love the half circle, it looks like a globe!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. It is good to see starts even if they aren't as perfect as we would like.Keep trying.
ReplyDeletehow exciting, have fun playing with your kiln
ReplyDelete