Don Goodrich on mon 13 may 96
Lisa,
As is sometimes the case with glaze, what looks like too much is just
enough. Because crushed glass has a lot of spaces between the particles, it
takes up more volume when initially put on the clay surface than it will
after it's melted. Also, it has a tendency to form puddles, resembling
crawled glaze, instead of a continuous glass sheet if it's applied too thin.
For this reason, I recommend using a layer of crushed glass 1/8" to 1/4" (3
to 6 mm) thick on a surface you intend to cover. It will melt down to a layer
much thinner than this. If the surface you're covering is not perfectly flat,
more glass will flow into the deeper spots, making them appear darker. If
you're going for a 2-layer effect with contrasting colors, it's best if the
deep spots have the darker color in them so they'll be visible through the
upper layer.
You can melt glass on top of glaze, but glaze ingredients may dissolve
into the glass and form a precipitate on the top. This is not necessarily an
unpleasing effect, so it bears experimenting. I suggest making test trays
of clay, like test tiles but with sides to keep glass from running out.
Glaze half the inside of the tray and leave half bare so you can compare how
glass looks above both surfaces.
--Don in finally sunny Zion, IL
BARNSCHWA on thu 23 apr 98
Another way to get crushed glass is to contact a stained glass studio. Most
studios use glass grinders and the residue from the grinders is a fine powder
of glass. The studios throw this away.
I am a stained glass artist, as well as a potter. I have been saving this
powdered glass but have yet to use it in glaze testing. I'm still occupied
with glaze development from the ashes of my woodburning stove.
Marion
Still in New Jersey, with a for sale sign in front of our beloved Victorian,
looking forward to our move to our country house and its fine studio with a
view of the mountains.
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