Charms, Charms, Charms...

I have 49 charms fired and ready for their enamel. I have a kiln that has a coating of icky black fine dust from the activated charcoal and the stainless steel firing container that I used for said charms firing. So, after I get my outside errands done today, I'll be hauling the vaccuum downstairs to vaccuum out my kiln. Then I'll get to work putting a back and front onto each charm so that I can begin working on my enamel painting. I'm cashing in my Holiday certificate (take one extra day off work of my choosing) that my DH gave to me because I need more time to accomplish this. 49 charms is a large amount when each one needs four separate firings. I have a total of Wednesday, Friday (my certificate day) and next Wednesday to accomplish all of this since I would rather not work on my enamel work on Sunday. I guess we'll see how efficient I can be today, but there is also drying time to take into consideration.

Since the charms are copper clay, they are more porous than standard sheet copper would be. So I have to be very cautious with pickle. Therefore, I will be trying to fire both the front and back of the initial firing at the same time to get a coat of clear on the copper. After that, I can do one side at a time without a problem. I'll have to mix up some gum arabic to hold the underside properly. The top will be totally transparent colors, but the bottom will have its' second coat be opaque, so I can hide a bit more with that. I've run through the process I need to follow in my head over the past few days and I think I have the procedure and order nailed. I guess I'll find out as soon as my kiln is ready to go today. I am also very grateful that the temperatures are mild today. Working the kiln when the temps are in the 90's or more is extremely uncomfortable, to say the least, although sweating through the process might allow me to lose a pound or so. I'm just so happy to be able to get back to my enamel work!