When I finished up the wax branches for the moulds last week, I was making final glaze decisions. The idea of bark will be conveyed in the glaze and not in the surface of the clay as I had been thinking. The glaze chosen as the vehicle for the cold frits will be stable in relation to them. No eutectic effect. It will look something like the smoothed and polished wax models do in some of these images. Instead of bits of differently shaded wax imbedded in an a more uniform colour, there will be bits of glaze imbedded in a uniform base glaze. The glaze will echo how the waxes look now.
I spent the week smoothing and contouring the wax tree trunks and completing two square base forms. By the time I finished the first base, I realized a universal one would be a better way to go. I finished another with the tree indentation in the middle so that it could work in all three situations. All I really need now in terms of moulds for the bases is one square and one rectangular model. The number of copies needed can be easily made from the two moulds.
Still working on the smoothing of the middle tree. Then on to the rectangular base. After that on to mould making.
I am the kind of guy who eats his favourite thing on the plate last. The furries are coming.
