Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

...a casting I will go!

Now that all of the mould work has been completed I can now cast the glass.  My design focuses on the left side of the brain which, amongst other functions, is also the side of the brain responsible for creativity and art.  Because of this, I've chosen Bullseye crystal clear as the core glass and have chosen some red, blue and yellow colours to add an artistic accent.

The plaster mould is placed on a bed of fibre paper to protect the kiln base.  Kiln furniture is then structured around the mould and the plaster plug is suspected into the hollow using a ceramic rod and the wires integrated into the mould.   The overall structure is quite tall so I have make sure everything is level and at least 25mm lower than the bottom if the kiln's heating elements.

The pots are filled with glass and placed on top of the bars.  The kiln bars have been placed to create gaps down to the void in the mould for glass to pour down to.

I've placed the red glass into pot trays that have had a 6mm hole drilled through them.  The trays have been placed on top of the pots.  I'm aiming for the molten red glass oozing through the smaller hole and causing it to trickle mix with the clear and colours below.

The firing is a 9 segment schedule which includes a lengthy venting first stage.  This is to allow all chemical waters contained in the plaster moulds to be steamed out.  During this stage all of the kiln vents are left open to ensure the vapour can escape and not harm the components of the kiln in the long term.  The schedule should take just over 4 days as I follow the Bullseye guidelines on annealing a thick slab; in this instance between 75-100mm.