Insane kiln patina!

On my first firing of FastFire BronzClay, I used Magic Carbon as my firing medium inside Cool Tools' wonderful new firing foil, which was designed to be folded origami-style into a box and lid and replaces the old stainless steel covered pans that many metal clay artisans have been using and which flake terribly, leaving the inside of our kilns a black, sooty mess.  I was thrilled with the firing foil and the completely successful sintering of all my pieces.  However, I was less than impressed with the bronze color that resulted.  It was a little too cool for my taste; I prefer my bronze to have a richer, warmer tone.

So ... in the hope that re-firing my pieces by replacing all the Magic Carbon with the traditional Activated Coconut Carbon might result in warmer colors, I was flabbergasted (in a good way!) to pull these pieces out of the hot carbon and watch these absolutely insane colors develop.  My solid bronze bangle now looks like an ancient, rusted relic pulled from a sunken galleon.  And my little bronze hearts -- some of which will become earrings; some charms; and one a pendant -- are similarly beautiful ... although none can come close to the amazing colors of my bangle.

Happy!