First Time Glazing

8 Jan

On the run up to our Stand & Deliver project we began learning about glazing. For me, I found this to be incredibly interesting but also incredibly overwhelming. I was never really switched on when it came to science and this involves a lot of science.

However, I was surprised how quick I became to understand some of the glazing processes and most of this was learnt through doing.

We began applying a variety of oxide combinations to our tiles we made in the first week of university.

These included-

Copper Oxide

Iron Red Oxide

Copper Carb

Manganese Oxide

Chromium Oxide

Iron Black Oxide

Iron Yellow Oxide

Cobalt Carb

We did three sets of test tiles- One would get fired at Earthenware temperatures ( 1060’c - 1080’c), then Stoneware Oxide (1260’c-1280’c) and finally Stoneware Reduction (1300’c)

We also applied transparent white glaze and white glaze to either side of each test tile so we could see the difference once fired.

The results were really beneficial and it was interesting to see the different outcomes depending on the different firings. I used these test tiles to decide how to glaze my Stand & Deliver pieces as this was my only experience of glazing.

Futhermore- I decided to challenge myself and make my own volcanic glaze. I wanted this glaze to go on my moss pots I created for the Stand & Deliver project.

This was my recipe (Baring in mind, it did NOT come out volcanic and bubbly)

Nepheline Syenite 60g

Barium Carbonate 18g

China Clay 11g

Flint 10g

Rutile 2g

Silicon Carbide 2g

THEN- I spilt the mixture and added-

0.3g Chromium Oxide to one pot

1g Copper Oxide to the other pot

The results were not as expected but I got some interesting outcomes and still used this glaze on my moss pots.