tile turtle table top is done.

I  have glazed and fired the tiles for the turtle table top 3 times. I fired to cone 4 first. (aprox.2025degrees) this matures the tiles. When they came out, they were all shiny. I put a coat of transparent matt glaze over the sand areas and refired to cone 05 (much cooler but still over 1500 degrees). I wasn't happy with the way the matt glaze came out. It was a milky white so I refired the tiles again a little hotter.
That did it. The tiles came out a semi gloss (not matt) but still not a shiny as the tiles with water.
Here are a few pictures of the finished turtle tiles. I can't wait to see it installed.
Heres to a great day.
Diane.

turtle tiles are sculpted

Great news,  I sculpted the turtle tile table top.  My client wants the turtle top to be a piece of sculpture so I was instructed to make the turtles stand out. I particularly like the ones that are swimming. I made one with it's head out of the water and the other diving.  The next step is to dry the tiles and then glaze them.

 If there are any questions on how I lay out the clay slabs or sculpt them please send an email and I will be happy to explain. Have some fun today. Diane.

turtle table top

04-08-11
Hi, I am working on the turtle table top. The clay has been pugged, slabs have been rolled and the clay has been joined on the work table. I have transferred the pattern to a plastic template with a sharpie pen. As you can see, I can now trace the pattern onto the slab. After this is done, I will sculpt the turtles into the clay. I need to do this quickly as the clay will dry and I will only have a day or so to do all the sculpting.
I'll update tomorrow.

have a great day. Diane.

Snook tiles installed

Hi everyone, It's been awhile. I have been waiting for some pictures of the installed snook tiles. here are a few. The project came out wonderful.

If you want to see other photos, please contact me and I will forward them.

I have also started a new project. I am making a sculpted table top for a foyer. It is free form and will have turtles crawling and swimming across it. This project will be challenging as the clay shrinks from all sides and I will need to expand the design by 10% to make up for the shrinkage. Here is a picture to show how I layout the design. 

Again, thanks for taking the time to check my blog. I will keep you updated on how the projects are coming along. till tomorrow. di.