A Big Step Forward

I gotta say, I'm pretty excited.
Did a rather methodical ware firing Jan 24th and reached several milestones.
First, I completely cleaned and washed my kiln and shelves - ground the shelves down to bare shelf, vacuumed out the kiln, ground all the posts clean and level...


I worked with 2 main forms - yunomi and 3-sided bowls - and 5 glazes:

Crystal Matte Neph Sy  50 Dolomite  20 EPK  20 Bone Ash  10 Copper OX  1.5 Rutile  5

Matte Black Barnard Slip  80 EPK   10 Custer 10 Cobalt Ox  1

Oharata Red Ball Clay   6 Custer Spar   48 Silica   22 Talc   6 Whiting   6 Bone Ash   12 Red Iron Ox   10 Bentonite   3

Tenmoku Whiting   20 Custer  35 Ball Clay  15 Silica  30 Red Iron Oxide  10

Nuka From Michael Coffee Custer Feldspar    36 Silica   30 Whiting   22 OM-4   6 Wood Ash (unwashed)   3 Talc   2 Bone Ash   2

Everything was single-fired, and the kiln was held at 500f  and 1800f each, for one hour. Reduction was started after the 1800f soak and carried out to cone 10/11. The kiln was then slowly cooled of about an hour to 2000f and then shut off.

I used an iron rich stoneware clay from Quyle Kilns.

I had some issues with glazes running and sticking to the shelves, but I think that's surmountable.

This is the first load I've fired that had NO breakage, no S-cracking, no warping, and no real glaze flaws (ie: pinholing, crazing, shivering...).

This is also the first firing that I am excited about - I mean really excited about!

I see lots of potential in my glazes - so much so I can't wait to get back to throwing so I have something to put said glazes on!

I did have some unexpected results, but I think I understand why.

One other thing...I'm playing with photographing my ware for Etsy and these are shot on my mantelpiece. I'm not trying to present them as something particularly grand or special, just wanted to experiment a bit.

Lets get to it shall we?

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Tricerabowls

Like everything in this load, these are lined with the Barnard slip-based Black Matte.

The outside was first brushed with a thinish coat of Oaharata Red, and then sprayed with the Crystal Matte.

I tried to be sparing with the second glaze near the bottom - spraying it lightly twice, while spraying the rim area 3 times and fairly heavily.

Regardless, I got lots of running and shelf-sticking-to. The bowls were all placed in the middle and upper part of the kiln. I've never had the Oharata run, and I did have a bit of running with just the Crystal matte on testing, so I need to see about stiffening it up (I thought the Oharata might do that. In the glaze tests, there really wasn't much difference between the tiles with or without the Oharata. Also, in the glaze testing, the crystals were turquoise, which I assume is because they were not reduced as much? Anyhow, I'm really excited about this glaze!

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Bowl

Lined with the Black Matte, this 3-cup bowl was brushed with a thin layer of Tenmoku and then a single, fairly thick layer of Nuka was poured over it.

I'm really pleased with this!

I'm not getting the lovely all-over blue loveliness  that Michael Coffee showed, and I'm hoping one day I can get that, but hey - there's nothing wrong with this result!

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Yunomi
Is the plural of yunomi yunomi or yunomis???
Sooooo...
Lets start with the Nuka ones.

Nuka over Tenmoku


Again, lined with the Black Matte.
I sort of was anticipating some dripping on these, so there's an area on the lower portion of each cup that just has the Black Matte on it.


Well, its drippy and fun and has lots of interest.
I personally am not a fan of drippiness in glazes, but this one's getting lots of ooohs and aaahs amongst my pals.


Both the Tenmoku and Nuka were brushed on.

Nuka over Red Iron Oxide


This is more interesting and eye-pleasing in real life.
I just wanted to see what would happen.
Its a little pinholey - probably because it was brushed on a little too sparingly.
Its not pleasing to the touch.

Nuka over Oharata


Yeah - I think this is my favorite.
Love the mossy green with the turquoise rivulettes (hope I spelled that right - my spell checker doesn't know).


Hardly any dripping.

Crystal Matte over Oharata Red


Wacky huh?
This is the exact same glaze combo and application technique as the bowls at the top of the page.


The only difference is that all of these were on the lowest kiln shelf, and the shelf above them was pretty big and may have created something of a saggar atmosphere on this shelf.

That's the only thing I can think of.


There were about 8 of these on that bottom shelf - all pretty well packed in.
Maybe 3/4 of an inch of space in between each of them.

Or perhaps because they were all crammed together there on the bottom (where my burners come up through the floor of the kiln), they didn't get the advantages of a nice slow cool and so didn't form crystals?


But why so shiny when the bowls were such a lovely matte?


Its a puzzle to me.
I don't hate them, but I sure don't love them either.
I do think they are trying to teach me something though...

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Soap Dish

I'm SO inspired by Keith Phillips!

This little soap dish surely echoes his work, but hopefully I've made it my own.

This is the Crystal matte sprayed over a sloppily applied Oharata Red.


It was on the topmost shelf of the kiln, with a small shelf between it and the flue opening.


So there ya go!
I'm back at the wheel tomorrow. I think I may be finding my voice!
Thanks for stopping by...you know your comments are always appreciated.


CMCK

18 Glazes!

Wow!
I'm spending January working on developing a glaze palette that is consistent and feels like my voice.
I almost feel like when I have it nailed down, I may shift my form a bit to follow it.
Bass-ackwards I'm sure.

I have about 4 good, consistent glazes now - a crystaline gold, a lovely Tenmoku, an iron red and both a glossy and matte white.
I just want a little somethin' somethin' in there too.
Anyway, this test was 18 different glazes, at cone 10 reduction.
Everything was single-fired, and the kiln was held at 500f  and 1800f each, for one hour. Reduction was started after the 1800f soak and carried out to cone 10/11. The kiln was then slowly cooled of about an hour to 2000f and then shut off.
Each glaze was applied to 4 tiles (in the order they'll appear in the photos):

1. over both Red Iron Oxide and Rutile washes
2. 1/2/3 dip on white stoneware
3. 1/2/3 dip on iron rich stoneware
4. over iron red (Ohata) glaze.

Unless otherwise indicated, all glazes started with the following base

 (from "the Potter's Palette" by Constant and Ogden):

• Potash Feldspar                  50
• Dolomite                             20
• EPK                                   20
• Bone Ash                           10

Click on any image to see it full size.
As always, comments and input are greatly appreciated!

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Glaze #1a

Base Glaze plus 1.5% copper oxide.

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Glaze #1b

Base Glaze plus copper oxide 1.5% and rutile 5%

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Glaze #1c

Base Glaze plus copper oxide 1.5% and tin oxide 5%

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Glaze #2a

Base Glaze plus cobalt oxide 1%

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Glaze #2b

Base Glaze plus cobalt oxide 1% and vanadium pentoxide 3%

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Glaze #2c

Base Glaze plus cobalt oxide 1% and tin oxide 5%

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Glaze #3a

Base Glaze plus rutile 15%

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glaze #3b

Base Glaze plus rutile 15% and chrome oxide .25%

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Glaze #3c

Base Glaze plus rutile 15% and tin oxide 5%

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Glaze #4a

Base Glaze plus vanadium pentoxide 6%

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Glaze #4b

Base Glaze plus vanadium pentoxide 6% and red iron oxide 3%

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Glaze #4c

Base Glaze plus vanadium pentoxide 6% and rutile 5%

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Fire Yellow Redux

From ClayUtah forums.

Custer Feldspar           50

EPK                           50

Dolomite                     25

Whiting                       10

Tin Oxide                     5.5

Bone Ash                     8

Red Iron Oxide            1

Rutile                           2

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Blindingly Bright Green

(from ClayUtah forums)

Oh dear - this is just so wrong. Looked so good in the pic too! But I see I left out one ingredient, so I'll try it again...

Ball Clay                                     10

Whiting (accidentally omitted)      20

Silica                                           20

Custer Feldspar                          40

Copper Carbonate                       .5

Chrome Oxide                             2

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Choy Celedon

(from John Britt's "The Complete Guide to High Fire Glaze")

Custer Feldspar                 50

Silica                                 28

Whiting                               6

EPK                                   4

Barium Carbonate             12

Red Iron Oxide                   2

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Barnard Slip

Barnard Slip        80

EPK                   10

Rutile                  10

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Shaner Oribe

(From John Britt's "The Complete Guide to High Fire Glaze" )

Custer Feldspar          31

Whiting                      22.1

Silica                          25.3

EPK                          12.6

Talc                             7.9

Bone Ash                     1.1

Copper Carbonate       5.2

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John's Red

(from John Britt's "The Complete Guide to High Fire Glaze")

Not sure what happened here, except it called for frit 3134 and I only had 3124.

Custer Feldspar     48.2

Whiting                  13.6

Silica                     15.5

EPK                       5.5

Frit 3134

(subbed 3124)        9.1

Talc                        3.6

Zinc oxide               4.5

Tin oxide                 1.2

Copper Carbonate     .8

Bentonite                   1

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Well, there ya go. Some complete failures, but some really exciting possibilities too!

Next week, I'll be testing the same glazes, and maybe a few more, in an oxidation firing.

Stay tuned...

CMCK

Nov 19 Firing and Glaze Tests

Well!
I finally had some good results!

Lets get to it shall we?
This was a cone 10/11 reduction firing (maybe not reduced enough).
All ware was single fired white stoneware from Quyle Kilns. Glazes were primarily sprayed.
Kiln was held at 500 F for 1 hour and again at 1800 f for 1 hour. Reduction started at 1800 f, after the soak.
At 2200 f I added some wood for extra reduction, and then held the kiln in reduction at the top for about an hour. Cooled to 2000 f over about 1 hour and then shut off.

First the glaze tests, then the ware.
I decided to give examples of how I was taught to convert formulas to small batches.
Maybe some of my struggles lie there? I am NOT a math person...

Click on any image for a larger view, and, as always, comments and input are appreciated!

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Tenmoku

From the Nov Ceramics Monthly.
Not sure what happened.
Not enough redux? Not enough Iron Oxide?
Maybe I put 10 grams of RIO instead of 100?

Whiting.....................20  (200 grams)
Custer.......................35  (350 grams)
Ball Clay...................15  (150 grams)
Silica.........................30  (300 grams)
Red Iron Oxide.........10  (100 grams)

From left to right:

1/2/3 dip || Rutile wash, over/under || Iron Ox wash over/under || Over Malcom's Shino || Over Shaner Yellow || Over Bone Ash White

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Vanadium Green

From the book "The Practical Potter" by Josie Warshaw.

I didn't get the results I expected, but I'm really excited about a couple of these!

I may play with the colorant numbers a bit.

Neph Sy......................................................31  (310 grams)

Whiting........................................................31  (310 grams)

Fire Clay  (subbed with Hathorne Bond).......14  (140 grams)

China Clay...................................................12  (120 grams)

Copper Ox....................................................2  (20 grams)

Vanadium Pentoxide......................................8  (80 grams)

Left to Right:

1/2/3 dip || Rutile under/over || RIO under/over || over Malcom's Shino || over Shaner yellow || over Bone Ash White

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Willie Helix

Again, not at all what I expected.

Some potential, but not what I'm looking for (what I'm looking for is something like the examples in John Brit's book).

Neph Sy ...............................42.9  (429 grams)

Whiting..................................20.4  (204 grams)

Silica.....................................24.5  (245 grams)

Kaolin...................................12.2  (122 grams)

Copper Carb...........................5     (50 grams)

Bentonite.................................2     (20 grams)

Left to Right:

1/2/3 dip || under/over Rutile || over/under RIO || over Malcom's Shino

Left to Right:

over Shaner Yellow || over Bone Ash White || over Matte Black || over Vanadium Green

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Some Pots...

European Butter Dish

Gary's Gold with Bone Ash White liner.

I got a request for a square, 2-stick style butter dish.

this was what I came up with, though its a little too small so I will have to make them about 10% larger next time. Also want to add some texture to the surface.

This would also make a great cheese plate I think.

I like this glaze combination too...

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Little Yunomi

 Again working with Gary's Gold and Bone Ash White.
Playing with the rim a little.
I'm just happy with this little guy.
More exploring to do...

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Some Bowls

Again, playing with altered rims.

This is simply Gary's Gold inside and out. Its a little too much of that glaze for me personally, though it is one of my tried-and-trues.

This bowl's bigger than it looks...maybe 4.5 cups volume.

Then there's this smaller tri-lobed bowl. My friend calls them Wave Bowls - nice.

This one has a Bone Ash White liner.

Its about cereal bowl sized...2.5 cups?

I'm really liking the over spray of the gold onto the white inside this.

Need to play with overlapping glazes in the spray booth!

I have a request for a set of these.

I'd like to do something nicer with the glaze.

Maybe I'm just bored with the gold...

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Mugs!

Yep!
Wanted to make some mugs for some of my favorite guys.
These are Bone Ash White. The inside is just that.
The outside is over a Rutile wash.
These were really fun to make and I'll definitely be making more and playing with glaze combinations on them.

These 3 are personalized with the guys' initials on the handles.
They're nice and big, and I like a generous handle that you can get a really good grip on.

I need to make a larger, tankard-style one for beer,
After all, one can only drink so much coffee right?

Well, that's about it.
I had a couple of kitty saucers in the kiln too, but there's not at all exciting, so I didn't include them here.
That's pretty much a full kiln load for me.
I dream of a larger kiln, but for now, this will do.

CMCK

Electric to Propane/Wood Kiln Idea

I'd appreciate any input from the experts on my idea here.
I recently picked up an old Skut 3-ring electric (non working and I'm not into electric firing).
Its the same size and configuration as my current high fire converted kiln, but in better condition, so I'm going to switch them out.

That leaves me with an extra kiln to play with and this is what I'm thinking.
I toyed with the idea of soda, but have decided instead to play with woodfiring.
I LOVE the results, and thought this might be manageable.
Don't know any more about woodfiring than I do about soda (nothing), but I figure a kiln is the logical place to start.

Oct 24 Firing

Well...
No test tiles in this firing.
I stuck to 4 glazes - the matte black from From the March/April 2010 issue of PMI , Melinda's Not Yellow , Shaner Yellow , and Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle.
I used 2 clay bodies, both from Quyle Kilns. The iron rich Sandstone Buff and the Silverstone white body.
Single-fired all, and I can see I need to work on my glaze (spraying) application. A bit thin I think.


This was a straight oxidation firing to cone 10/11, though I did try to get some reduction on the bottom shelf by using shelf posts to create a sort of saggar around the pieces on that shelf. Not terribly successful though.


Click on any image to see it enlarged.
Please to enjoy and comment as you see fit.

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Beer Mug.

A beer mug for Craig.
I don't like the lip on the mug - not sure why I made it so flared.
The liner glaze is a nice bone ash white, the outer one is supposed to be a flat black. Not sure why its so shiny.
The biggest issues are the lip of the mug and that I didn't get the glaze thick enough - especially on the handle.

I'll try again...

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Child's Cup and Bowl
A cup and bowl I made for my new, 2yo granddaughter Alivia.


I am not really kid-friendly, but I really wanted to do something for my new granddaughter and new daughter-in-law.


I initially thought about a 2-handled cup, but got some really great ideas from everyone on ClayArt and was inspired.

I hope she likes them...

Shaner Yellow inside and out, with irin oxide wash.

Iron rich "Sandstone Buff" clay body by Quyle Kilns.

BTW...

I did some experimenting with resists and found the best one for things like impressed letters is Shellac! 

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Jar

A Jar for Susan's birthday.

Liner is Bone Ash White, outer glaze is Shaner Yellow over a rutile wash. 

On Quyle's "Silverstone" white clay body.

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Jar

Another jar...

I go back-and-forth on this one.

I like the form. I need to work on that knob a little though.

Do I like what the glaze is doing or not?

I expected it to do something else. Not be so runny. Not pool so much. 

But then I look again and those pools and breaks and layers of glaze keep 

my eye coming back for more, so...

Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle with Shaner Yellow liner. On Quyle's "Silverstone".

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Jar

Another jar with Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle.

On the top shelf of the kiln, and a totally different result.

Same clay body.

The glaze coverage of both the Shaner Yellow liner and the outer glaze are not good, so I may re-glaze this one.

I do like the form.

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Someday Jars

My son and his new family are going to have a tough time in this economy.

I wanted to make something to both welcome his wife into our family and to help them save a little.

This is a stopperless bank.
A thrown and altered bowl with additions.

Melinda's Not Yellow glaze over an iron ox wash, on iron-rich "Sandstone Buff".
I tried to create a sort of saggar to encourage some reduction by enclosing these pieces with shelf posts. Not sure how successful it was, but I'm pleased with them.

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Some Uglies

Well, ye never know unless ya try right?

I'm just beginning to play with mugs and handles and whatnot.

I still feel glazing is my big weakness.

Some days I just want to toss it in, buy pre-mixed cone 6 glazes and an electric kiln and be done with it.

But I think there's something out there in High Fire Land calling to me.

And when I see what can be done, I want to go to there.

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Lastly, the Raku Boxers

I am very involved with dogs - specifically the Boxer breed. More specifically, Boxer Rescue. I did hands-on rescue for 15+ years. Part of that time was spend in Missouri working largely with puppy mill throw-aways.

I can't rescue anymore, but I do try to keep my hand in, and one of the things I do is fundraising.

My friend in Nottingham, England owns a bisque pottery.

One day she surprised me with a charming little slipcast boxer figurine.

That got the ball rolling...

Now, she sends me a box of bisqued boxers from time-to-time and I raku them. Its terribly fun, and helps rescue. If there's a particular rescue needing funds, I can put one of these critters up on eBay and usually raise a hundred dollars or so for the rescue. 

Beyond that, I donate $10 to a specific national rescue fund every time I sell one.

Makes me feel like I'm still helping out ;-)