High Fired

So to try and get the same connotations as the form I wanted the surface to have a skin like quality. After trying various glazes and only coming close with a 'skin like' glaze from a fellow student I tried firing the semi porcelain body up to stoneware temperatures (a good 100 or so degrees above its usual vitrification point). This worked amazingly. I found that if I bisq fired them to 900 degrees first, it meant I could use a diamond pad and wet and dry paper to smooth them down before the final firing. Once fired I then used a diamond pad to buffer them to a high level of smoothness. To seal the pots and give them a slight sheen I tried a spray on varnish, which was too shiny. I then had suggested to me that I should use beeswax. This worked a treat if applied liberally and buffered, so this is how I finished my pieces. I am extremely happy with the results and feel the likeness to skin and bone they have works well in balance with the ideas of the cast form.