Tidying Up and Finishing
(Click on pictures for a larger view) |
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Use the damp cotton swabs to clean the voicing area. |
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 | Clean glaze from the mouthpiece opening, if needed. In Figure 1, the opening is narrowed by excess glaze. In Figure 2, extra glaze has been removed with a damp cotton swab.
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Stilts The ocarina is now ready to be fired.
When glaze melts it becomes a glass which will fuse to anything it touches. Since the ocarina is glazed all over its surface, it will need to be raised off the kiln shelf to prevent it from sticking. If this happens, the only way to remove the ocarina would be with a hammer and chisel. This would damage the shelf, and certainly ruin the ocarina. To prevent this, stilts are used. Stilts are three (3) or more pieces of special high temperature wire imbedded in ceramic material, usually in a triangular shape. The pottery rests on these wire "points," which will leave small bumps on the fired glaze. |
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Position the stilts on the "back" or "bottom" of the ocarina. I usually place them around the voicing. (Figure 3) It may take several tries before the ocarina will balance. (Figure 4) The stilts points can be glued to the ocarina using white glue. This makes loading the ocarina into the kiln easier; you won't have to be holding the stilts in position.
Fire to the temperature for which the glaze is rated. |
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 | The ocarina, after glaze firing. Notice how the color changed during the firing from a bright blue to an almost "navy" blue.
The inset shows the bumps in the glaze left by the stilts. Sometimes these can have sharp edges, and will need to be ground down using a stilt mark stone.
That's all. The ocarina is finished, finally.
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