Porcelain Bisque Ornaments

	This is a photo of a fresh casting, removed from the mold about 10 minutes earlier. The seams will be removed before I start tracing the design on the surface. Note: When cutting the design, I always hold the casting at the opposite end of the pour hole, since the pour hole is the weakest part. This helps reduce the breakage caused from stress fractures.
	I placed my design on the ornament, traced over it with a sharp pencil, removed the design and then cut away that areas as shown and set it aside. The ornament dries for a few days before going to the next step.
	What you see here is "Prop It," a special high fire fiber that helps the porcelain retain its shape if used properly.
	The Ornament is in the process of being loosely stuffed with "Prop It."
	A close up view, the birds beak will need extra attention to keep it aligned during the 13 hour high fire it will soon endure.
	There has to be a large enough opening to stuff the "Prop It" into the cavity. This is greenware and incredibly fragile.
	Looking into the pour hole you can see the "Prop It" is packed loosely. If you put too much "Prop It" inside the cavity, the porcelain will crack during the firing stage. The porcelain shrinks about 25-30%, where as the "Prop It" shrinkage is minimal, if at all.
	This shows the design I used for the ornament. Notice I had to add several more Holly leaves to use as anchors. Without sufficient anchor points, the design will not be stable and in this case, will sag inwards (because of the flat surface)during the firing.
	This is a bisque egg, right out of the kiln
	Porcelain Egg - Fairy cutout. The “Prop It” has been removed with the aid of tweezers and set aside to be used again. The egg will be washed out with soap and water. The "Prop It" tends to stick ever so slightly, as you can see by clicking on the photo to enlarge, but it will wash off.
	This is a photo of the "Prop It" exposed on a porcelain egg that has been fired. By caressing the porcelain, every so lightly with the "Prop It" the design will stay in alignment with the rounded shape of the egg. This is the finished piece.
	This is the ornament, fired bisque, prop it has been removed. Its ready to be washed, than glazed.
	This is a photo of a vase that I plan to adapt to an oval ornament. I've shown approximately where I plan to make my cuts, as well as a petal that needs to be extended out the oval to use as an anchor.


	Snowman with Titmouse