Hi--I would like to know if anyone has ever put agate rocks in the bottom of a bowl and then fired it to---- say ^ 6? Since they are such beautiful colors, I thought if they would melt, they would look interesting. They are small--probably no bigger than a quarter. Thanks in advance for any advice. Martha
if the rocks have any embedded moisture in them, they'd explode in the kiln.
you might try firing them separately first.
very risky!
i think they'll melt down nicely. i think they are mostly a quartz make up.
they also likely have no water trapped inside. rocks usually form over time & temperature - like fired pots.
make sure your initial bowl is well made. i have fired pots with glass inside to melt up in a similar maner, and some pots crack up from the glass shrinking at a much different rate then the pot.
one aspect of this that is fun is that the glass melts at such a different temp, that upon cooling down you get crackles in the glass, yet the surface also skins over to keep a clean flat layer on top. when seen in the sunlight they can look like a layer of gem stones.
i've found green beer bottles work very well!
steve
steve graber
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