Bead Tree

Here is a close up of a bead tree. The pendants/beads are threaded onto the rod so that they don't touch. The pendant and bead holes have to be kept clean of glaze. If there is glaze inside the hole, the piece will fuse to the rod. Sometimes I can get them loose if this happens, by carefully twisting them off the rod. But many times they break.

Loading the kiln is rather tedious. It is easy to touch a loaded rod and cause the pieces to move and touch. After loading everything, I do a final check to make sure nothing is touching the bead trees, the kiln or each other.

The final firing is to 1828 and takes about 6 1/2 hours. The pieces must cool down before unloading. That takes another 6 hours or so. Lots of patience is required!