BEAR
The following photos show the process of firing the bear sculpture.
The Bear sculpture is made with a clay found in a creek bank in Rutherford County NC. Next it is fired in the electric kiln which melts glass shards over pebbles and other interesting found rocks and minerals. A layer of pond settlings, ashes and borax is spread over the surface of the Bear sculpture and the following photos show how it is treated in a wood firing.
Warming up the "kiln".
The fire dies down and the sculpture sits and warms up for an hour. It was covered with a short piece of roofing tin. Then we begin the firing. It is sitting on a brick.
Look carefully and you can see the profile of the bear's head and ear in the center of the photo below.
This sawdust is wet.
A bottomless metal bucket is just the right diameter to set down over the sculpture.
All cleaned up. It's difficult to get good photos showing the colors in the melted glasses etc.
