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.
July 23rd, 2014 at 12:33 pm
How long would you fire something that large? How can you tell if the metal is sintered all the way through? Does it matter?
July 23rd, 2014 at 3:43 pm
Perfect piece, really like this new direction. If I knew I could fire these larger items, it opens up a whole new can of worms.
How did the firing go? More important, how did you fire such a large piece? Thanks for staying curious.
July 23rd, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Likewise – I have been considering much smaller sculptures and really like this concept that you start with a “rock” just like a real sculptor with stone. I hadn’t even considered carving – stuck in the dark ages, I created my minis squidging and moulding then refining the dried creation. Doh! Must have taken 3 or 4 hours to fire this – or more?
July 24th, 2014 at 9:45 am
Amazing! It is a great step in yet another new direction, bravo again Hadar!
July 24th, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Jeanie, this was Quick-fire copper so I fired it in 2 phases. I gave it 3 hours on the first phase, then cooled, and another 2 hours on the second phase. If there are non-sintered part deep inside the piece, and they don’t compromise the strngth of the [iece, I don’t think it matters.
July 24th, 2014 at 5:19 pm
Vivien, It took quite a few hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
July 25th, 2014 at 10:14 am
Will you be bringing any of these larger pieces with you to the class in Victoria. It would be awesome to be able to see them in person!
July 26th, 2014 at 10:56 am
Kristan, I will try. I can’t carry to much weight in my suitcase.