Bridge Progress

Another bridge update! I decided that I was going to assemble the bridge Wednesday evening and I did just that! Of course, with the help of Maaike, Jane and Michael because I just can’t lift those pieces on my own. Would have been a complete disaster…

Anyhow, everything worked out really great. I was really worried at first when I was just standing there… looking at the two slabs and wondering if this was really going to work at such a scale. The clay was leather hard. Bendable yet stiff and completely terrifying to move around. That’s me, standing on the table. Showing off my boot for scale.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this in earlier posts but I had to construct the archways in three pieces. So, before I did anything else, I had to flip over each side and reinforce those areas. I couldn’t do this before because the clay was too soft. Gotta love paper clay.

Before I joined the arches, I rolled the pathway for the piece. I then attached it to one side and reinforced the front and back seam line to make sure it was fused properly and securely. I thought for a a second that it might be okay on it’s own but I just couldn’t chance it.

Next I was trying to find the best way to fit this monster together. Was it best to  have both pieces stand up with the supporting boards and fuse them that way or lay one on top of the other and dry them flat? Both options had pros and cons but I went with the latter. My biggest problem with this method is that I needed to find numerous supports along the outside and inside of the pathway to make sure the top arch didn’t droop or sag with gravity. Me and Jane looked around the studio for a while and found that Tucker’s 1 pint glaze container’s were the perfect fit. Lifesaver they are!

So that’s what I went with and it worked wonders. When I was finished for the night I wrapped a garbage bag around it, added two boards and some weights to keep the bridge from cracking while it dried. This morning I took the supporting glaze container’s out before the piece shank too much and left the garbage bag over it to dry slowly.

Now it’s just the waiting game.

Oh another important point for anyone who is thinking about making a similar or large piece. You totally need a shrink plate for the kiln. I’ll be making one early next week. Very Very important.

Night!