The lizard has survived the first firing. (Actually, several lizards have, but this is the one everyone has been following.) The green is perhaps a little pale but it's difficult to get right. If it is applied too thickly it will run straight down the pot in a spectacular fashion, so it's better to err on the thin side on the whole.
Applying the lustres requires even more imagination than applying glazes because here none of them remotely resemble in the raw stage what they will look like after firing. Then there are other complications. I may have written before about the green/purple dilemma. Basically, green and light green lustres come out as purple and light purple - except when they don't! What to do? If the green went green then it would be ideal for this lizard. But if it went purple then I'm not so sure it would do much for the light green. It goes purple much, much more often than it goes green, so I decided not to risk it. Instead, I went for turquoise lustre, which is fairly bluish usually, but perhaps not too far from the light green base. I like to use gold with the green too. Finally, wanting to make the chap really lizardy, I used a fair amount of mother-of-pearl lustre. Below is what he looked like once decorated.
I can't be sure how this will all look, but I can be certain that it won't look anything like it's unfired state. The kiln is firing as I type. Tomorrow I will unpack and the vase will be finished and, with any luck, will still be in one undamaged piece. I'll let you know.
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