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I sketched out a really rough idea for what I wanted to glaze everything - I was doing a quick glaze turnaround time because I knew I wanted to make a 2nd batch so this pieces would come out of the bisque kiln in the morning and were going back on the same evening in a glaze firing.
My idea behind my glazes were that I wanted to use coloured 'transparency' glazes so I could add colour while still maintaining the transparency of a real jellyfish. I also had a selection of speckled glazes that I thought could work well in this project. When I began I mainly wanted to keep the jellyfish white, like some are in the deep sea, but as I did my research and found the colourful jellyfish I couldn't not add colour. I also knew I wanted to add mother of pearl lustre on top of the glazes to add to the transparency aspect, and it also works well over coloured glazes.
Each jellyfish had their own plan and glaze combination, check out my sketchbook post to see my drawings and designs.
Batch 1 glaze firing
Batch 1 glaze firing
CONE 6 - 9 HOURS - 1222 DEGREES C
CONE 6 - 9 HOURS - 1222 DEGREES C
Before & Afters
Before & Afters
I also had to prop up the large jellyfish heads on kiln props so I could glaze their rims and the inside a bit
The only thing from this firing that I didn't like were my 's' shaped pieces, the gaze just didn't work as well on them and they weren't fitting my style. Other than that I was really happy with this glaze firing! The speckled glazes came out amazing and definitely was what I was envisioning. The colours are bright but still feel translucent so it has that great balance. The celadon glaze also did what I thought it would and gave a pattern that looked like movement across the pieces. I was excited to try out my lustres over them next.
The only thing from this firing that I didn't like were my 's' shaped pieces, the gaze just didn't work as well on them and they weren't fitting my style. Other than that I was really happy with this glaze firing! The speckled glazes came out amazing and definitely was what I was envisioning. The colours are bright but still feel translucent so it has that great balance. The celadon glaze also did what I thought it would and gave a pattern that looked like movement across the pieces. I was excited to try out my lustres over them next.
Batch 2 Glaze Firing
Batch 2 Glaze Firing
Before & Afters
Before & Afters
From what I learned during my 1st batch firing I tried out the other colours and used more textures so the glaze could really react well to them. Like in this purple one, It fell great over the stamped on pattern, showing the white while maintaining a good purple colour.
From what I learned during my 1st batch firing I tried out the other colours and used more textures so the glaze could really react well to them. Like in this purple one, It fell great over the stamped on pattern, showing the white while maintaining a good purple colour.
Lustring
Lustring
I bought Mother of Pearl lustre to use on these pieces as I had researched what kind of effect it gave, iridescence, shiny, translucent colour so it was perfect for this project. I also tested out some expensive gold lustre I bought a while ago. The lustring process is very toxic, it requires a mask and gloves and always good ventilation (this stuff can really give you a headache), but the results are worth it 100%. Mother of pearl lustre only requires a really thin layer and it's best to apply it in swirls, on darker glazes like black it looks like an oil spill. While the gold is the opposite, you have to try and be neater and get the right amount, not too little or it will turn into purple streaks, but not too much or it will stay brown. Deciding what temperature to fire at is also crucial as you don't want to burn the lustre off but you have to reach enough of a temperature so it changes. I fired to cone 18 (most recommended) which is 715 degrees C and they came out perfectly. This is definitely one of the most exciting parts to fire, they go in with this brown looking shade and come out all sparkly and amazing, the firing process really is insane!
Stained yellow with Mother of Pearl lustre & Brown with Gold lustre
Lustre Firing CONE 018 - 5:30 HOURS - 715 DEGREES C
Lustre Firing CONE 018 - 5:30 HOURS - 715 DEGREES C
Before & Afters
Before & Afters
I was in love with these results! I had never used mother of pearl lustre before but my god it gives the pieces such a nice finish! It's almost holographic and reacts well in light. The Gold lustre also truly comes out so bright and shiny just like I remember
I was in love with these results! I had never used mother of pearl lustre before but my god it gives the pieces such a nice finish! It's almost holographic and reacts well in light. The Gold lustre also truly comes out so bright and shiny just like I remember
Batch 2 Lustring
Batch 2 Lustring
Close up shots of the shiny mother of pearl lustre
Close up shots of the shiny mother of pearl lustre
I was absolutely obsessed with how the black came out with the mother of pearl lustre! It got me thinking that I could enter the human impact category of the competition and make an oil spilled look jellyfish.
Overall I was really happy with how everything turned out, the MOP lustre really added on to the transparency and out of this world feel that jellyfish have. So it was time to assemble everything and it took way longer than I imagined........
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