The results after I glazed and high-fired my porcelain “Voynich Nymphs” and “Critter”-

The porcelain panels and figures are mostly unglazed, except for a clear transparent glaze on the stars and the crowns/headwear. After this high temperature firing the porcelain has become very strong—far different from its extreme fragility during the earlier drying phase. The sculptures will undergo a third kiln firing to add gold luster to the shiny transparent glazed areas. (The gold luster fires to a lower temperature, but it needs to be painted over a clear glaze as a base, so this will be done as a separate step.) Aside from this, I sanded the unglazed porcelain for a smooth but not glossy finish, since I want the gold stars and crowns to stand out as the only shiny part, and I used some minimal colored glaze to accent the features.

The whole sculptural assembly is still missing a central, circular porcelain panel that I had to remake. And, I’m working on the lighted glass star that will attach to the top center panel. This will be tethered to a wire held by the mouth of the “critter” and the gold porcelain stars will also be attached to the hands of the nymphs with thin wires.