French Vanilla Woes
Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 9:16 am
I’m trying to make some items with Bullseye’s French Vanilla (0137). I made a plate, composed entirely of Fr. Vanilla, with a single 3 mm layer base and smaller decorative pieces of Fr. Vanilla, placed about 1/8” apart, covering most of the surface, so that I essentially had a 6 mm thick piece. My goal was to have the characteristic post-firing white edges around each small element to emphasize the design. My first attempt, using schedule #1 below, was semi-successful, in that each decorative element on the surface did have the distinctive white edge, but it seemed to me that some of the smaller pieces were somewhat over-fired so I thought perhaps I’d reduce the process temperature for future firings.
In my next attempt, with 3 new items, I lowered the process temperature and shortened the soak (see schedule #2). The result was that the white edges didn’t appear, but several of the small decorative elements came out very bright white over their entire surface, while the base and remaining elements fired to a deep cream and the whole thing looked patchy. I re-fired these items, using a higher process temperature and adding 2 minutes to the soak (see schedule #3). The white edges showed up slightly this time but the bright white elements still stood out from the creamy background.
I thought perhaps the bright white glass had appeared because I’d used glass from several different sheets of Fr. Vanilla, so for the next item, I used glass from only one sheet and fired it using schedule #4. When I took it out of the kiln, the white edges around the surface decoration elements were barely noticeable.
I know, because I've seen it, that it's possible to produce some clear and distinct white edges, but I haven't been able to do it successfully and consistently. Can anyone give me some clues as to how to achieve the look I’m after? Should I leave more space between the surface elements? Should I hold longer at process temperature? Do I need to ramp up more slowly or add another ramp somewhere in the schedule?
Jennifer
Schedule #1
400oF dph to 1225oF, 30 min hold
400 to 1510, 15 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
Schedule #2
400 to 1225, 30 min
400 to 1500, 10 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
Schedule #3
300 to 1225, 30 min
400 to 1510, 12 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
Schedule #4
400 to 1225, 30 min
400 to 1510, 12 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
In my next attempt, with 3 new items, I lowered the process temperature and shortened the soak (see schedule #2). The result was that the white edges didn’t appear, but several of the small decorative elements came out very bright white over their entire surface, while the base and remaining elements fired to a deep cream and the whole thing looked patchy. I re-fired these items, using a higher process temperature and adding 2 minutes to the soak (see schedule #3). The white edges showed up slightly this time but the bright white elements still stood out from the creamy background.
I thought perhaps the bright white glass had appeared because I’d used glass from several different sheets of Fr. Vanilla, so for the next item, I used glass from only one sheet and fired it using schedule #4. When I took it out of the kiln, the white edges around the surface decoration elements were barely noticeable.
I know, because I've seen it, that it's possible to produce some clear and distinct white edges, but I haven't been able to do it successfully and consistently. Can anyone give me some clues as to how to achieve the look I’m after? Should I leave more space between the surface elements? Should I hold longer at process temperature? Do I need to ramp up more slowly or add another ramp somewhere in the schedule?
Jennifer
Schedule #1
400oF dph to 1225oF, 30 min hold
400 to 1510, 15 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
Schedule #2
400 to 1225, 30 min
400 to 1500, 10 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
Schedule #3
300 to 1225, 30 min
400 to 1510, 12 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off
Schedule #4
400 to 1225, 30 min
400 to 1510, 12 min
AFAP to 900, 90 min
100 to 700, off