600-gram Piece Fired
This is the 600-gram “rock” from my last blog posting, waiting to be carved.
Carved, before firing
Carved, before firing, different view
Size, held in my hand
Fired and finished
Fired and finished
Fired and finished
This piece actually did fit in my 6.5″ x 6.5″ x 4.5″ small kiln. I just mixed 1550 grams of copper, which will probably fit in an 8″ x 8″ x 6″.
1550 grams mixed copper
The scale shows the weight of the powder plus the water. I am not yet ready to make another piece, since there are so many things I learned from this experience and need to experiment some more.
I was asked why I had made such a piece. The answer is that metal clay creations don’t necessarily have to be functional. Sometimes you want to do it for art’s sake. But mainly I was trying to explore the limits of this medium. I wanted to see what it could do and what it couldn’t. Obviously it’s a new sculptural medium – different from the familiar ones, like ceramic sculpting and stone carving – that needs more research and experimentation.
