I'm lazy.
There, I said it.
I'm lazy and hate spending the time making and testing glazes for myself and am known to be seen running up and down the halls of the SFSU ceramics department popping my head into various rooms I really shouldn't to pick the ceramic brains of my fellow students for information I can glean without doing the thinking (or testing) myself. It got to the point this semester that so many folks said 'I dunno' and 'You should test it' that I was forced to succumb to my own lack of knowledge.
And thank goodness! After running a test of various oxides under celadon and mixing up some baby batches of green textured low fire glazes and testing those. I realized there is a whole world available to me that actually isn't that hard to get to. And it was kinda fun, like cooking. I can't wait to run more glaze tests next semester... there are so many I want to try.
Anyway... onto the real point of this post. I want to share my oxide test results with you. The tea bowl is ^10 porcelain (thrown and donated to the cause by a fellow student), the glaze is the house-recipe celadon, and the kiln was fired to a ^8 reduction. I will list the oxides used under each photo. (Click on the photos for larger views.)
And thank goodness! After running a test of various oxides under celadon and mixing up some baby batches of green textured low fire glazes and testing those. I realized there is a whole world available to me that actually isn't that hard to get to. And it was kinda fun, like cooking. I can't wait to run more glaze tests next semester... there are so many I want to try.
Anyway... onto the real point of this post. I want to share my oxide test results with you. The tea bowl is ^10 porcelain (thrown and donated to the cause by a fellow student), the glaze is the house-recipe celadon, and the kiln was fired to a ^8 reduction. I will list the oxides used under each photo. (Click on the photos for larger views.)
Raw Sienna
Black Stain
Vanadium
Cobalt Carbonate
Chromium Carbonate
Copper Carbonate
Manganese Dioxide
Red Iron Oxide (RIO)
My favorites are the vanadium, copper carbonate, and the manganese dioxide. Of course, all the e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y toxic ones, huh? I used vanadium and copper carbonate to paint designs under the celadon on a couple of my curvy cups. We'll see how they come out after Thanksgiving break. I'm so stoked.
Which ones does everyone else like?
5 comments:
What a great way to test oxides. I hate glazes, testing, mixing, failures, all of it! Sometimes I think I should just make terra cotta flower pots :)
Love the copper carb and the vanadium, this would be fun to play with. Look forward to your results.
These are some of the nicest tests I've seen in a while. Looks like you really got into it. Good for you! I like all the lines of different color.
Gorgeous results, no surprise you are stoked. I presume, as they were under celadon, it was a reduction firing. I'd like to see a twin vessel fired in oxidation - just to see the range possible with those oxides and that glaze. LOVE it. Like you the toxic ones and those that bleed too are what rock my boat. Just rediscovering them myself but in oxidation for now till my Gas kiln gets installed.
Vanadium, Copper carb & chromium carb are all pretty sweet! you just use them straight & draw on the bisqued pots?
Just add water. :)
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