Everything is not equal in the same firing even with the same clay and glaze. I wanted the glaze on the carved bamboo plate above to break tan and look like the textured leaf below with that color green. I previously did a test tile with the same glaze and I liked what it did, breaking to a tan.
This leaf dish is the same glaze and it did break to tan which is what I wanted. I think I may have put the glaze on too thick on the plate and the plate was also much thicker than the leaf dish. I hand brush the glazes on so it's hard to measure how much glaze I put on. I think the glaze has to be thin to break to the tan. The plate has some tan on the back at the edge of the bottom of the plate close to where it sat on the kiln shelf. The leaf dish was on the bottom kiln shelf and the plate was on a middle kiln shelf. The leaf had a 1.5 inch post and the plate a 2 inch post. I'm thinking I may have to go back to putting cones on every shelf. What do you think about the plate glaze result? And do you think it would be improved with re firing? Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
Hello Linda:
ReplyDeleteActually we really do rather like the plate glaze without the 'tan' showing through. It has, to our eyes, a wonderful translucent quality, rather unreal, which is so very effective.
Hi Jane and Lance, thanks, that happens so often, I don't get what I expect, but folks who like or purchase my pottery like the piece I was disappointed with. Everyone has a different eye, a different way of seeing things.
ReplyDeleteI like the subtlety of the plate as is. I don't think refiring would change things unless you think it's underfired because I think you're right -- the glaze brakes to tan where thinnner and glaze on the plate was simply applied thicker.
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I like the glaze on the plate. I am not sure I would risk re-firing it.
ReplyDeleteI like the way the plate looks too although I understand why you like the breaking, it looks great on the leaf. I do think that comes from thiner areas of glaze, you just get less colorant.
ReplyDeleteI think it's beautiful like it's now. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Elna
You are onto the same conundrum I frequently have after glazing...and I agree that thinner glaze is probably where the tan happens, at least it does sometimes with my glazing. However, happy accidents continue, and your result does look good though different.
ReplyDeleteMy unprofessional experience is that, all things being equal, the more vertical the surface, the more the glaze breaks. Thickness of the glaze application and temperature also matters, as you have already said. If you think about it, once you get a glaze to temperature, there is usually a molten quality to it. It therefore "runs" with gravity. Even if this is not something that you can see, the movement of the glaze exposes molecules of glaze differently than one that is flat.
ReplyDeleteI have an iron glaze that mostly breaks on the sides of the pots, not on flat surfaces.
Your work is very nice in any case.
Having had very little luck in refiring plates, I would suggest making a few more and experimenting with your glaze. Very often the things I perceive as problems are due to a failure between expectation and outcome. I bet if you put this one away for a while it will look a lot better to you. I like what you've done with this one.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, thanks, I've been looking at the other pieces with this glaze and it's where it's thin that it breaks to tan, just disappointed due to expectations.
ReplyDeleteHi Michele, thanks, now that I'm thinking of it I don't think re firing will change anything and I have two matching so I'll leave them as they are.
Hi Lori, thanks, I think you are right too, thinner next time.
Hi Elna, thanks, I'll just have to get used to it.
Hi Joe, thanks, the leaf does have more slope to it than the plate, more experimentation needed with more pieces, it's never ending isn't it.
Hi Suzi, thanks, yes this is definitely my thinking ahead of time of what I wanted and then getting something different than I expected. I'm getting used to the results.
Hi Barbara, thanks, I'm slowly gettng used to the plates the way they turned out compared to my expectations.
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