New Finishes on Porcelain Pendants...

A few months ago, I created a series called, "Cosmic Relics".  It furthered my experimentation with surface treatments on porcelain.  I was most interested in adding metallics and iridescent finishes.

To make them is quite the process.  First, I carve all the molds in polymer clay.  Once the molds have cured, I press out pieces in porcelain.  While they're still in the greenware stage, I hand-tool them, adding larger holes and removing any burrs.  Once they've dried out, I fire them.

Then comes the part where I play.  I hand-glaze them in matte velour glazes and fire them again.  Once they've been fired, I tumble them to bring out the detail and enhance the silky-satin feel.  The pieces are then stained with permanent inks, detailed with opalescent paints and pigments, and touched up with colored wax and Gilder's Paste.  I try to achieve iridescent effects found on Ancient Roman glass and rake-fired ceramics.

These are my latest results.  Sadly, the pictures don't really do them justice.  I wish there were a way to capture all the shifting colors and shimmering effects of the new finishes and colorplays.

I'm selling them for $8 each, plus shipping.  Contact me via email (ardenttie@yahoo.com) or leave a comment if you're interested.