Post 8 - Glaze trials

I’d been collecting recipes over the last year and put together a ‘shortlist’ of about 90 coloured and clear glaze recipes. The time has come to ‘just do it’. I want to put together a group of glazes that I can work with and which give me the tonal and textural qualities I’m looking for.

The first choice to be made aloong with clay selection is glaze firing temperature – in ceramic terms the cone number. Now there is a fascinating science in itself. I’ve decided on cone 6 glaze firing at about 1200 to 1240C. This is a good compromise of clay characteristics, kiln element life and glaze formulation.

On the table in the picture below are the first ~50 all weighed out and ready to water mix and then apply to small test tiles. With a precision scale you can mix small quantities easily for trial purposes and not feel like you are wasting too much material. It’s an essential step to build that glaze portfolio. A glaze needs to be tested using the ingredients you can get and fired in the kiln you are going to use. 

 

One more batch after this set and then I'll be ready for a kiln run. I’ll post some pictures of the test when complete.

Here are some pictures of some of the glazes I'm trialling:

  Pete's matte

 Shino

 Tomato red

 Bright sky blue