Patriotic Pinwheel

1. Begin with a properly fired shelf cone 04 Bisque. Drill in holes for the pipe cleaners in the center section of the pinwheel, four holes. Moisten a clean sponge and wipe bisque to remove dust.

2. Apply 3 coats of SC-16 Cotton Tail or FN-001 White to both pinwheels as a base.

3. Use the paper punch to cut out some stars out of paper (if you don’t have one available you can cut them out with scissors). Wet the stars and place them on the pinwheel. Gently press on the stars to remove air bubbles and ensure edges are sealed. Once they are cut adhere them to the top of the small pinwheel. Sometimes it helps to snap a photo so you don’t forget where you put the paper!

4. Once the stars are secure, use the Soft Fan to apply two coats of SC-12 Moody Blue to cover that pinwheel. Once the glaze has lost its shine, but before it is bone dry, remove the paper stars.

5. Use MC-001 6mm Low Tack Masking Tape to section out the stripes on the larger pinwheel. You may want to sketch this out with a pencil first to make sure they are even.

6. Use the Soft Fan to apply two coats of SC-73 Candle Apple Red over the exposed areas.

7.  Allow to dry and place the small pinwheel on top of the large pinwheel in the kiln. The two pieces will fuse together during the firing process.

8. Fire to cone 05/06.

9.  Use epoxy to glue in the wire to the holes in the center, use epoxy to glue on the beads. Use construction adhesive to secure the copper 1/2″ tube to the back, cut the 3/4″ tube around 9″ long this tube should be put into the ground for the installation of the pinwheel.