Karen Sullivan on mon 24 nov 03
Sort of a grizzly topic for the holidays...
but here goes...
Perhaps a note of caution here...if the
topic is tough to think about...please
delete here...
A long story...about my appearing at school
at 8 am and having a student ask if it was okay
for him to cremate his recently deceased pet iguana...
naively I said okay sure...about 10 am the
powerful odor was reaching across to several
other buildings on campus...which caused
other faculty to question the activity in the lab
and the odor......
I replied that we were cremating a pet
iguana...did they have a problem with that...
turns out they did...big time....
so advice...
choose a quiet time...not many other folks
around to participate in the smell...which
it a powerful...mind altering experience.
Create a saggar to contain the critter...
hold the ash and the resulting ghost image
and bones that remain after the firing...
Let the critter dry out for awhile...
don't want explosions from (forgive my
delicacy here)...wet critters...candling only
prolongs the smell as you wait for the fluids to dry...
Is your kiln outside....hopefully?
Scale is important...
I have made some bird or mouse sarcophaguses
(help me...is it sarcophagui?) and the size of
the critter is not a big deal..
Perhaps create a box that contains the
resulting ash...the bones do not completely
combust...and you will be left with bones...
the iguana skeleton was wired together after
the firing.
Perhaps a honorable activity for a treasured
friend...
So, anyway...happy holiday to all....
karen
who can explain what happens to bamboo when
it is thrown into a fire...much more exciting
as it explodes with each section...between the
nodes...
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