Applied the top coat over the straw insulation today.
Used a full bag of clay, a quarter package of iron oxide colouring, and a couple heaping spadefuls of sand to start – mixing that all with enough water to get the consistency of thick peanut butter.  I then mixed in about 1/5 of a bale of straw, all cut up pretty fine. Talk about a workout!
After applying the finish coat, I applied a layer of red/black aquarium gravel that I had (and no longer needed) – kind of like a stucco.  Worked pretty good I think – we’ll see how the colour is – right now there are a couple thin spots that have dried, and they look more pink!  I might just mix up a thinner layer with more colouring to apply again 🙂
I’m also thinking that I might have more of the clay applied over the foundation down from the top – kind of like wax dripping down the side of a candle – still deciding though 🙂
 
I’m still working on a design for a steel roof structure to build over the oven – and protect all this hard work from rain and snow!