Egypt-Ware Round #1...

 This new series of work has been quite the learning experience. First I thought three firings was a lot.  Then I came to learn that these decals that I printed and fired on at cone 018 didn't fully adhere to the glaze.  This was partially my fault.  I really like my glazes to be more semi-matte or sometimes possibly semi-gloss, but I don't really like high gloss glazes too often because it sacrifices the detail and dimension of the form.  Anyway, the problem with this is that the decals don't flux as well into semi-matte glazes as they do into glossy ones.

 I had hoped to be able to fire the decal and the gold luster in one firing, so that I could eliminate the need for a fourth firing, but it looks like this won't be possible.  I was informed that the decals will need to be fired higher: up to 01 or even 1.  But this will definitely burn out the gold luster, which means that it will need to be reapplied (at $30 an ounce) and refired at cone 018.  Oh boy! Definitely a learning experience.  But, that's what clay is all about.  And even though the decal didn't completely adhere on this round, it still looks amazing!

I also realized how well the decal shows up on darker surfaces, which was something I was not expecting either, and how it doesn't show up quite so well on red and lighter brown surfaces.  It was also great to learn that the gold didn't work quite as well on top of the decal as it did directly on top of the glazed surface.  I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the fact that the iron in the decal didn't completely flux or what, but it's still great information to store away for later, and experiment with again.

So, despite some of the little mistakes that occurred on this round, I'd say overall it was a successful venture.  I look forward to exploring this process on the new clays I just purchased.  There is also much more news to cover in Egypt, historic and modern.  And it might be a good idea to create a glossy clear glaze in the near future as well.