Friday, March 21, 2014

Making Plates Part 2

Making Plates Part 2


After these custom plates were bisque fired, I glazed them with three coats of textured green glaze and added red glaze around the rims.


Here is my beloved kiln, it lives in my basement, where it sits on a cement floor and is cornered by cement walls. 



I then placed each dish on a plate stacker inside my kiln. These are like small pizza stones that allow multiple plates to be fired on top of each other using little bricks to support each layer. Using this method is a huge space saver in the kiln. The photo below shows the plates stacked before the firing. The kiln will fire to cone 6 and reach a temperature of about 2220 degrees fahrenheit. The glaze firing takes about 12 hours but will need to cool for another 24 hours until I can open and unload the wares.


Here is the "after" picture when the kiln has cooled with some other pieces inside the kiln.



And here are the finished dinner plates, they have been shipped to my lovely client Sharie on Lanai Island in HI.




The plates have arrived in their beautiful new home, here is what their new owner has to say. "We had company and all agreed they were beautiful. They are now stacked in the cupboard. I love the wonderful red rims and their original shapes. Thank you for the custom design. I will love them forever. And the bowls are just right. Much Aloha,  Sharie"



This was such a gratifying experience. It makes me so happy to know my work is being enjoyed around the world.