Sunday, July 14, 2013

One Great Glaze

I never imagined when I first mixed this glaze that it would become the most versatile and best loved glaze in my palette.  Who would have guessed that simply mixing ash (from our cedar boughs) with clay would result in such a beautiful and varied glaze.  In the front where it sits in the blasting heat from the firebox it tends to be a rich, red-brown with the greeny-yellow rivulets - more red at the bottom of the stack and more greeny-yellow when placed at the top.  At the top of the 2nd stack this glaze becomes transparent and glossy and in this last firing, seeming to trap carbon!  The further from the firebox and at a regular cone 10 temperatures this chameleon glaze becomes a satin matte yellow - brighter yellow on whitish clay - that is just beautiful to the touch.  Did I say I loved this glaze?!

In the next firing I'll test the glaze with woodstove ash to see if the results are the same because there is only enough cedar ash left for 2 or 3 more batches.  

The glaze recipe is Warren MacKenzie's Yellowish Ash Glaze from his biography - Warren MacKenzie - An American Potter, by David Lewis.   Truly a great glaze!

From the top of the front stack

From the bottom of the front stack

From the 2nd stack from the front

From the bottom of the back stack

From the top of the back stack

From the bottom of the back stack with extra ash from the kiln

From different spots in the 3rd stack from the front

Friday, July 12, 2013

A Good One

It was a beautiful day, not too hot, and the firing just went so smoothly.  It was completely effortless - no panicking (even when it became obvious that the pyrometer was truly broken), no grouchiness, just that perfect stoking rhythm and a steady temperature rise.  The wind came up in the afternoon and pushed the smoke down to the ground but didn't seem to affect the kiln.

The test clays were mostly failures - bloating, even at the back - and the glaze tests were not stellar either but a couple of them point the way to new tests and possible winners.  And this time there was no glaze running and some gorgeous tea dust temmokus.  All in all a very good firing!

Smoke pushed down by the wind.

See, no runs, though the ash/salt? made the black line sag in the colander.

White shino honey pot


Red shino honey pot

Red shino garlic keeper

Red shino berry bowl
Orange shino honey pot

Orange shino bell vase
Smallish Tea dust Temmoku jug

Small Red Shino vase

Tea Dust Temmoku Oil bottle


Tea Dust Temmoku Mugs

Red Shino Nesting Bowls

Red Shino Jug

Red Shino Jug

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Cookin'


It's been scorching hot.  Temperatures have been hanging in the low 30's but the past few days have been 35 degrees C. (about 98 F) and humid from all the rain we had before.  So, yup, I'm going to fire the kiln!  The horse trough is filling and you know I'm going to be in it every couple of hours,  though we did pick Thursday to fire when the temperature will "drop" to 28 degrees and a possibility of showers.  A little crazy, yes, but other commitments will keep me from firing for the next 2 weeks so it's now or kind of too late.  The farmers' market is picking up with tourists, even from flooded Alberta, so the extra stock is really needed.  Photos of pots should be posted by the middle of next week.  This firing is especially exciting because I'm testing 3 new glazes and 4 new clay bodies.

2nd stack from the back

half full trough