I spent the weekend smoke firing, or barrelling my ceramic torsos.
This is a bisque fired and glazed torso. 
Which I placed in a galvanized dustbin and covered with dry leaves, straw and sawdust. You can see some of my dead headed hydrangeas in there, too!
Then comes the fun bit!
And the next morning the bins are cool enough to open…
Two very differnt creatures emerge…
And this is one of the torsos, cleaned up and ready to go. I am still shocked by its transformation.
If you like to join a smoke firing workshop, please contact me via my website www.annakeiller.co.uk. or email me.
To see earlier posts on life casting and clay workshops please scroll down the page.
Annakeiller's Blog 
Where did that red coloring come from???
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copper oxide and soot – all a bit of alchemy, trial and error. Soot really depletes oxygen from the atmosphere causing the copper to go red.
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was the peice glaze fired before you barreled? if not then where did the sheen come from? are u actually barrel firing hot enough to flux glaze??!!! Cause that would be awesome. and how did you apply the copper oxide? as a wash or did you just sprinkle it on the peice once it was in the barrel? sorry about all the questions. I do this kind of firing a lot but I dont get a shiny finish like that. Thanks!
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I glazed the torso in a conventional way before smoke firing it. You get a lot of losses this way – stuff break and crack – but when it works it’s worth the losses.
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