Brain and Heart

The molds were made of 60% silica and 40% plaster.

These molds were fired on the following schedule:

1. 5:00 - 125
2. 20:00 - 150
3. 30:00 - 650
4. 35:00 @ 650
5. 35:01 - 900
6. 40:00 @ 900
7: 49:01 - 515
8. 53:00 @ 515
9. 79:00 - 390
10. 92:00 - 20

The Molds went in on Monday March 30th, and came out on Sunday April 5th.

Brain 4kg furnace pellets. Water displacement: 7.4kg, wax 1.2kg.
Usually, the ratio for wax:glass has been 1:3 roughly, but this time is was 1:7, which both Orion and I thought was strange, so I put less glass in the flower pot for fear of overflow.

Heart 3kg furnace pellets. I forgot to water displace the heart, but I rememberd that it weighed approx 3/4 of the brain in wax.

5 birds each with 170g frit from casting furnace.

Abstract, wax 101g, mold packed with 294g Tea coloured cullet.

I used flowerpots on the Heart, Brain and the abstract.

When the firing was finished, there wasn't enough glass in either the heart of the brain, obviously I should have suck to the water displacement amount of glass, it seems that that was right.

I couldn't re-fire, since the brain mold split horizontally when I lifted it out f the kiln, and the heart mold was too fragile. Also, the locks inside the mold lost their bars somehow (probably during steaming?) and floated off the inside of the mold. There is therefore a lot of stress in the glass around them.

all the images associated with this firing can be found in the following album:

Brain and Heart

Another possibility for this firing was as follows (this was the firing for Vanessas "Hand Hive"):
1. 5:00 - 125
2. 15:00 - 150
3. 22:00 - 650
4. 27:00 @ 650
5. 27:01 - 845
6. 32:00 @ 845
7: 32:01 - 515
8. 41:00 @ 515
9. 59:00 - 390
10. 68:00 - 20