Ms. Peacock

[Fartin'Gary]

Is that kiln at your home? That is awesome!

 

[Islandoftiki]

Is that kiln at your home? That is awesome!

Yeah. My fiance is a potter. It's kinda fun playing with fire like that. The glaze firing is ever hotter... over 2200 degrees!

We also have a little kiln that we fire with a BBQ cylinder and a weed burner!



I'll post pictures of the newest mantis shrimp mugs after we do the next glaze fire!

 

[Islandoftiki]

Thought you might like to see the building process... She has about 3 hours into this mug at this point. She's adding the antenna scales right now.

And...

Betty says Hi!

 

[Calappidae]

Are the mugs just basicly made out of clay, melted, and then before cooling just molded into shape by hand?
(Btw, we're sorry if were getting off track but the mugs are just too amazing )

 

[Islandoftiki]

These are made using normal clay, then the clay is air dried for a week or two, then fired in a kiln (propane gas in our case) to 1950 degrees Fahrenheit. Once they have been fired, the clay becomes stronger and more brittle. Then the decorative glaze coating is added and they are fired in a kiln again, but this time to about 2200 degrees Fahrenheit. It's a pretty major process.

Here's a short video from out last firing.




Unfortunately, this was our very first glaze firing on the new kiln and our lower shelves got a bit too hot and warped some of the pieces, two of which were mantis mugs. We'll make some adjustments for the next firing.

 

[Fartin'Gary]

Are the mugs just basicly made out of clay, melted, and then before cooling just molded into shape by hand?
(Btw, we're sorry if were getting off track but the mugs are just too amazing )

No, they are shaped out of clay on a wheel or by hand, left out to dry, then fired in the kiln. After they have been fired, they are glazed for color and fired again.

The goal is to keep all of your skin and hair on your body when firing. I would saw glass blowers have it a bit worse on the danger scale though.

 

[Calappidae]

Ah I see. :hmm5:

 

[Islandoftiki]

The goal is to keep all of your skin and hair on your body when firing. I would saw glass blowers have it a bit worse on the danger scale though.

Firing the kiln with gas is super fun. There is a little element of danger involved, I will admit. That, and fire, which is what makes it fun. It's hard to describe just how hot 2200 degrees F (1204 C) is until you experience it. It's the mother of all BBQs.

 

[Islandoftiki]

Betty doing her usual thing...

 

[Islandoftiki]

I know... crazy, huh?

 

[Islandoftiki]

It's always fun to present Betty with unusual objects. This is probably the most unusual thing she's had direct contact with...

 

[Islandoftiki]

I'll just mirror the highlights of the new tank build for Betty on this thread...

Here's the new tank, an Innovative Marine Nuvo 30 gallon.

The main base structure of the tank stand is built.

I ordered a chaeto fuge basket fro InTank for the back chamber of the Nuvo 30 and in the warehouse instructions part of the order, I requested a hand drawn picture of a mantis with the order. They did not disappoint.

As always, the quality of their products are top notch.

Now, to finish the stand.

 

[Islandoftiki]

Oh, and somehow, I missed the best on! I'm having it framed.

 

[Islandoftiki]

New mantis den. Thoughts, opinions? I'm planning to cover it in epoxy and aragonite substrate.

Disposable and washable filter pad material, PolyBioMarine filter pad. Still waiting on the Purigen and Chemipure.

A little more work on the stand done.

And I made good use of the Swedish fish that InTank sent me...

 

[Islandoftiki]

Rear chamber...

 

[TundraGuy]

I did the something with the led ice cube we got from Disney world lol. It did not get broken but it did get smacked around for a bit. The new nevo looks good can't wait to see it up and running. Hand feeding sends chills down my back you got more guts then me.

 

[Calappidae]

I did the something with the led ice cube we got from Disney world lol. It did not get broken but it did get smacked around for a bit.

Dumb question, but wouldn't objects like that leech something into the water? I imagine it would need to stay in there for forever for damage to be done.. but just curious.

 

[Islandoftiki]

Dumb question, but wouldn't objects like that leech something into the water? I imagine it would need to stay in there for forever for damage to be done.. but just curious.

It's plastic and it's food safe, so I assume not. Plus it was in there for all of three minutes.

 

[Islandoftiki]

Today, I picked up a piece of 1/8" shatter proof acrylic and siliconed it to the bottom of the tank around it's perimeter. This will keep any detritus from getting under it and creating a source of nitrates.

The masking tape will come off tomorrow after the silicone cures. I masked it off so I didn't get any excess silicone where it doesn't belong. What does it matter, it's going to be covered with sand, but I'll know it's not perfect and it'll bug me, so I masked it off. I also masked off the sides, but removed the tape while the silicone was still fresh right after I smoothed it out.

 

[Fartin'Gary]

I put acrylic on the bottom of my first tank but realized that after adding a pvc burrow she stopped digging. I haven't used it since but it's good insurance none the less. That is going to look great. I love the corner-less tanks.