A molding I will go...

Starbucks New York mug filled from the Botanical Garden go cup--I couldn't start today without coffee. "War" covered by Bruce Springsteen from 'Live 1975-1985' on the iPod.

I think I finally have Big Bertha whipped into shape. My firing this weekend was just about perfect with a top hold of 1440 for 17 minutes. The right side is still cooler than the middle or the left. I am tempted to get a fan for more even heating (and better dispersal of the thinfire burnoff which devits the bottom of Bullseye opals if I fire with the lid tightly sealed). But I do not have the margin right now for any more kiln maintenance.

Today I cut the final molds for the seder sets and begin slumping them. And I am in a quandry on this one: I have enough new ceramic board to cut two full mold sets (14 pieces). However this may be a one-off project as they may never order them again (even though I am not charging them for r&d including mold creation these are going to be fairly expensive sets and may not sell). Cutting two full sets takes twice as much time as cutting one (duh)--a not inconsiderable amount of time--and will just about use up my one remaining sheet of ceramic board. However I do not even remember where or when I bought that ceramic board so it's not like I have a lot of demand for it...

On the other hand, if I cut two sets I would be able to slump all of the pieces today in Big Bertha instead of over two days in the medium kiln and then I could ship tomorrow--three days early--which would really please the client. Of course if I got up really early tomorrow I could do the second slump (the first being done today) in the medium kiln and get the pieces out by late afternoon tomorrow with just the one set of molds...

It's only Monday morning and my brain hurts already. I guess I will just cut the first set, see how long it takes, and if it is a real pain to cut, I will only cut one and do an extra firing. I am cutting one-piece molds for all the pieces this time because even though they are more difficult to cut, they are easier to use as they do not have any seams to fill. Today when I cut I will wear gloves (and a dust mask, of course). That ceramic board really makes me itch after no time at all.