WHAT HAPPENS TO YOUR MASTERPIECE , BEHIND THE SCENE…

CERAMICS:

• Your project must be dip glazed, dried then dip glazed again because we can only glaze half of your project at a time. 

• Once the glaze has completely dried the project is lightly sanded to remove any access glaze.

• Projects are balanced on stilts when loaded into the kiln.  Stilting is necessary during the firing process so that the bisque projects do not adhere to the kiln shelf.   

• Projects are fired in our kiln reaching 1795 degrees then slowly cooled. This process takes  a full 24 hours.

• Once items have cooled, they are removed from the kiln and inspected to find any rough surfaces left behind by the stilts. These are sanded with a special stone designed for glass/ceramics..

• Your masterpiece is then carefully packaged and you are contacted to come pick it up. 

GLASS:

• The shelves of the glass kiln are brushed with a substance called kiln wash this helps protect the shelf during firing..

• Glass projects are placed on a special material referred to as “fire paper“ when they are placed in the kiln.

• Glass project reach a temperature of 1465 degrees in the kiln and then slowly cool to harden the glass. This procedure takes about 16 hrs.

• Once items have cooled, we look the project over and wipe it down.

• If the glass project is jewellery, we then use a special adhesive to adhere the appropriate fixture to the glass piece.

• If you have requested the piece have holes drilled into it, we use a special drill press to do so. 

• If you have requested the piece be slumped it need to go back into the kiln for another 16hrs, this time at a slightly lower temperature. During this firing it is placed onto the appropriate slump to achieve the desired shape.

• Your masterpiece is then carefully packaged and you are contacted to let you know it is ready for pick up.