Wednesday 12 May 2010

Clay Day 5 - and a firing question

I am still feeling so tired today, but at least I'm not as cold! Some days I just feel like I've been drugged or something. If it's my thyroid, I wish the doctors would just hurry up and give me something!!

Anyway, I managed to work a little more on the quirrel today. He's looking a little more like a squirrel now, but I can't quite work out how to make a fluffy tail out of a material that's just... not fluffy.


I haven't measured him, but I think he's about life size, although Scott thinks he's bigger than life size. I think Scott maybe saw a baby squirrel. Or maybe I saw a kangaroo and got confused...

He's taking longer than expected, and all the while I am counting down the days to the exhibition. Scott says it doesn't matter if I don't have many pieces, and he's right. But what I'm worried about, and what I need to know from you more experienced clay people, is whether it's ok to fire a kiln that's half empty? Will that affect the temperature? Usually I could just wait until it's full, however long it takes, but obviously I have a time restriction this time. Thank you in advance, for any help you can give.

Hmm... I'm starting to feel chilly now!

2 comments:

Kim Hines said...

i've done it, it's a waste of energy but oh well... i'd just try to pack it loosely so it's more evenly distributed.
as for the fluffy tail, i used to sculpt dogs and the fluffy ones were very deeply textured w/ a wood tool. experiment a bit, but try jabbing the edge of a rib or something fairly deep in a lump of clay over and over. or use a chunk of wood to give a nice flowing texture, i used to scour the playground for those large woodchips looking for the right texture pattern. i'm sure i looked like a crazy person.

Undaunted said...

Hahaha, the things we do for art eh? I keep nearly crashing the car because I'm too busy looking at the texture of bark on trees as I pass by! And looking at flowers and blossoms! Thanks for the tips though! I had a think about the tail after I posted, so I have something in mind that I want to try - it will either work or it won't!

And yes, I know what you mean, it will be a terrible waste of energy if I fire the kiln half full but hopefully this will be a one off and I will have more time before each show in future.

Thanks again Kim :)