The firing is finished, 33-1/4 hours and here’s the lion in the kiln as I had it, the only way it would fit and the shelf set in on edge was necessary to keep him from falling forward, it worked perfectly and did not mar or discolor the clay at all where there was contact. The clay fired model on the floor below a cast from the mold which was made of the damp clay model. There is about a 2″ shrinkage which can be seen easily, and it also shows somewhat why I made the mold while the clay was still most- to retain most of the size.

With the original model completely dried out yesterday, I decided to go ahead and fire him in the kiln, so last night I programmed a new sequence with longer/slower heating rates, giving the model 9 hours @ 195º to make sure it’s good and dry all the way through, and then essentially rise about 75º an hour for a segment, and 80º for the last segment to 2046º which will make it 33-1/4 hours total. It’s a large heavy model so this should work fine. At the moment I have the dry green model in the kiln at the gallery cooking away. I just about fit in the kiln, it’s…

Now with the model finished, and the mold of him finished as well, here is the first cast of the lion: