Janet H Walker on sat 11 oct 97
...avoid drips, runs, and overlaps...
Yeah, easier said than done. One question is how to avoid these.
Another approach is how to fix em once you;ve got em. In the older
books I;ve read on pottery and in descriptions of industrial work,
there are many references to fettling. You know, using that thing
you call a fettling knife. Well, guess what ? You use a fettling
knife to fettle, that is, to shave down the thick spots on the glazes
that come from drips, runs, and overlaps. It does work. I assume
that one is supposed to wear a mask while doing this but the old
books didn;t mention that...
Jan Walker
Cambridge, MA USA
Steve Hoskin on thu 29 oct 98
Hi.
I am a new potter having difficulty with glaze application. I am adjusting
the thickness of my glazes but I get drips and uneven spots which I even out
the next day, once the glaze dries. This is time consuming and leads to
bare areas on my pots that only become obvious after firing.
Any suggestions? Should I be able to learn a more efficient dipping
technique or should I leave the drips?
Michele
Michele Hoskin on sat 21 nov 98
Hi clayarters!
Just a quick survey to see whether people are glaze dippers or pourers out
there. I am having trouble pouring and wondering if dipping is okay. I
have dipping tongs and wonder if I should practice becoming proficient with
them.
Any help or suggestions are welcome.
Do people shake the drips off after dipping or leave them?
Michele
Jean Lehman on sat 21 nov 98
Hi, Michelle.
I (and my students) dip our pots into five gallon buckets of glaze. I
stress with them that they plan ahead the best way to hold the piece so
there are not finger marks all over, and that they dip FAST. In, Out, and
Shake off the extra glaze. In the beginning they tend to go much too slow
and the glaze gets too thick. Or, they hold the piece with several fingers
against the rim instead of one finger on the rim and the rest on the
bottom. Or they try to dip the entire piece instead of half and half with
is generally much neater with larger pieces.
Even with dipping, you need to pour the glaze into bottle forms or pieces
that are too big for the bucket. And, this does take some practice. When
pouring,don't try to fill the container the whole way... just quickly pour
it about half full or even less, give the piece a quick twirl to cover, and
quickly pour out and shake to get rid of the excess. Quickly pouring out
will help keep drips off the outside of the pot. If some glaze gets on the
outside of the piece while doing the inside, just remove that glaze for
even coverage. If it is a glaze that is enhanced with different layers,
then ignore the drips... To glaze the outside, just hold the piece upside
down and pour a steady stream, while turning the pot to make the glaze
cover it smoothly. This technique can put a very even coat on the piece,
with some practice. I always pour my 14-16 inch platters, since they can't
fit into the buckets. And I pour the steady stream with my right hand while
moving the piece across the stream with my left. I cover about two thirds
of the piece and then let that dry and do the other half. Most of my
platters are landscape designs anyway, so I deliberately have an uneven
(mountainish) overlap. Then when that dries, I pour another color on it
that goes past the overlapped area, which gives quite an interesting
contrast to the mountainish effect. (I think there is one pictured on my
web page which is linked to the site mentioned below my name.)
Another friend of mine teaches her students to paint the glaze on, which I
would think would be REALLY hard to get smooth. She has them go one
direction for the first layer, the opposite way for the second layer and
diagonal for the third, avoiding overlaps. It seems to work fine, once they
get the hang of it.
I had one teacher many years ago who had her glazes in quart mayonnaise
jars. She had us shake the glaze to mix, which was nice and easy and beats
stirring a bucketful. But then we poured over a bowl, and then had to pour
that back into the mayo jar. The good things about that method is that you
don't have to mix large amounts of glaze, they don't take much storage
space, and if a student contaminates a glaze, it isn't so expensive to
replace.
My glazes are mixed for fast dips. Other people on this list, (like Mel,
for example) has said he leaves the pot in the glaze and counts to ten or
something. If my students did that, the glaze would be so thick it would
crack and fall off the pot as it dries.
Glazing takes a lot of time. It always takes more time than students think
it will take. And, the ones who rush end up with messy pots. It pays to
take that extra time and do a neat job.
And, whichever method you use, it does take practice. Hope this helps a
bit. Good luck.
Jean
---------------------------->
Jean Lehman, in Lancaster, PA
j_lehman@acad.FandM.EDU (that's an _underscore_ not a hyphen)
Check out the 1998 Strictly Functional Pottery National at:
http://www.art-craftpa.com
Michele Hoskin on sun 22 nov 98
Thanks so much for your help. I am very pleased with my claywork and it is
so upsetting to ruin these pieces with bad glazing! I'll get there I'm
sure
Michele Hoskin
-----Original Message-----
From: Jean Lehman [SMTP:j_lehman@ACAD.FANDM.EDU]
Sent: Saturday, November 21, 1998 10:01 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: Glaze application
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hi, Michelle.
I (and my students) dip our pots into five gallon buckets of glaze. I
stress with them that they plan ahead the best way to hold the piece so
there are not finger marks all over, and that they dip FAST. In, Out, and
Shake off the extra glaze. In the beginning they tend to go much too slow
and the glaze gets too thick. Or, they hold the piece with several fingers
against the rim instead of one finger on the rim and the rest on the
bottom. Or they try to dip the entire piece instead of half and half with
is generally much neater with larger pieces.
Even with dipping, you need to pour the glaze into bottle forms or pieces
that are too big for the bucket. And, this does take some practice. When
pouring,don't try to fill the container the whole way... just quickly pour
it about half full or even less, give the piece a quick twirl to cover, and
quickly pour out and shake to get rid of the excess. Quickly pouring out
will help keep drips off the outside of the pot. If some glaze gets on the
outside of the piece while doing the inside, just remove that glaze for
even coverage. If it is a glaze that is enhanced with different layers,
then ignore the drips... To glaze the outside, just hold the piece upside
down and pour a steady stream, while turning the pot to make the glaze
cover it smoothly. This technique can put a very even coat on the piece,
with some practice. I always pour my 14-16 inch platters, since they can't
fit into the buckets. And I pour the steady stream with my right hand while
moving the piece across the stream with my left. I cover about two thirds
of the piece and then let that dry and do the other half. Most of my
platters are landscape designs anyway, so I deliberately have an uneven
(mountainish) overlap. Then when that dries, I pour another color on it
that goes past the overlapped area, which gives quite an interesting
contrast to the mountainish effect. (I think there is one pictured on my
web page which is linked to the site mentioned below my name.)
Another friend of mine teaches her students to paint the glaze on, which I
would think would be REALLY hard to get smooth. She has them go one
direction for the first layer, the opposite way for the second layer and
diagonal for the third, avoiding overlaps. It seems to work fine, once they
get the hang of it.
I had one teacher many years ago who had her glazes in quart mayonnaise
jars. She had us shake the glaze to mix, which was nice and easy and beats
stirring a bucketful. But then we poured over a bowl, and then had to pour
that back into the mayo jar. The good things about that method is that you
don't have to mix large amounts of glaze, they don't take much storage
space, and if a student contaminates a glaze, it isn't so expensive to
replace.
My glazes are mixed for fast dips. Other people on this list, (like Mel,
for example) has said he leaves the pot in the glaze and counts to ten or
something. If my students did that, the glaze would be so thick it would
crack and fall off the pot as it dries.
Glazing takes a lot of time. It always takes more time than students think
it will take. And, the ones who rush end up with messy pots. It pays to
take that extra time and do a neat job.
And, whichever method you use, it does take practice. Hope this helps a
bit. Good luck.
Jean
---------------------------->
Jean Lehman, in Lancaster, PA
j_lehman@acad.FandM.EDU (that's an _underscore_ not a hyphen)
Check out the 1998 Strictly Functional Pottery National at:
http://www.art-craftpa.com
Vicki Katz on sun 22 nov 98
I dip whenever possible & I use tongs most of the time. It provides nice even
coats & works well. Yes, I invert the piece to let the drips come off at the
lip as that is where the glaze thins when fired right-side-up. I try not to
'wipe' anything but the bottom. BE SURE to stir your glaze frequently.
Vicki Katz
Katz Creek Pottery
Timothy Dean Malm on sun 22 nov 98
greetings: Have always been a dipper except for the largest peices which I
would spray.Cheers,Tim Malm
Eydie DeVincenzi on mon 23 nov 98
------------------
I use a clear transparent glaze on my colored clay pots. I am a GLAZE
BRUSHER because I don't want a thick coating of glaze on my pots -- it's
too shiny and too =22flat=22. It distracts from my designs. After the =
glaze
dries, I brush off any excesses with my finger or a wood tool. This also
seems to help cut down the pinholes.
Eydie DeVincenzi
Joyce Lee on fri 27 nov 98
This is probably too obvious, but just in case...I use those big
toy-holder round plastic tubs found at the Marts...usually have handles.
Large, work well, easy to clean. I cover with plastic or #1 Support
Person makes wooden covers.
Joyce
In the Mojave
amy parker on sun 29 nov 98
In college (in the previous century), we made our own batches of glazes
and kept them in gallon milk jugs with screw-on lids. Just shake it up &
pour, suspending the pot over a bucket with sticks or one of those wire
pantry racks. From looking at those pots, I obviously used to be able to
do this gracefully, but my current attempts at this are messy - guess I
am way out of practice! This also allows you to make smaller batches of
glazes that store more efficiently. A funnel helps get the leftover back
into the milk jug, and a rubber spatula scrapes out those last bits.
I have currently been dipping pieces that would fit into a 5 gallon bucket.
The glaze is mixed to whatever consistency is needed for good coverage with
a quick dip & shake to clear the drips. Runnier glazes need longer dips.
5 gallons is a lot of glaze to mix up! Even half a bucket can be a huge amount
for some glazes.
Painting works great, if you use several even coats with the "right" brush,
but takes FOREVER!!!
I would say just hang in there & practice practice practice whichever
method you want. They all "work", but some are obviously faster.
amy parker Lithonia, GA
amyp@sd-software.com
Dwiggins, Sandra (NCI) on wed 2 dec 98
Many thanks to the clayarters who contributed the suggestions about containers
for glazing. I went to the local auto parts store and bought the oil drip
pan---it's a great shape for dinner plates, etc. At the local thrift store I
found a perfect heavy plastic round sled for large platters---and yes it is just
right---although it seems to me that a large Rubbermade garbage can lid would do
the same job.
This list is the most amazing resource for information---even when you're not
directly looking for it!
Sandy D.
-----Original Message-----
From: Jenny Lewis [SMTP:jlewis@lbs.ac.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 1998 11:04 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: large tub for glaze application
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I have been all behind with my Clayart reading, so rather later than
everyone else... I recommend baby bath tubs, which I came across
in one of my classes some years ago - great for glazing large
shallow pieces, or fatbelly coil pots, or awkward forms. They are
lightweight, and big enough to stand a banding wheel in and pour
glaze while turning the wheel, and most of the mess goes into the
bathtub.
jl
overlooking regents park
where it is cold and gloomy grey
Michele Hoskin on sat 18 dec 99
Hi everyone.
I am having difficulty getting a particular glaze to "stick" to my bisqued
pots. It goes on OK if I don't touch it when wet (in which case it just
wipes off) and I touch it very gently when dry. This is almost impossible
unless the application is flawless (not likely!). Do any of the gums etc.
help with this problem? Any ideas?
Thanks so much,
Michele Hoskin
Toronto
Rog Coman on thu 20 may 04
Hello Ron,
I have your book and probably missed the part about glaze application. Are
your glazes dipped, poured, brushed or sprayed? I am about to start using some
of them (love the Waterfall Brown) and need to understand how to apply them.
Also, as stated in your book, you have used a brown clay for the work in the
book. I throw a lot of Laguna B-mix and was wondering if you had any
experience with light/white clay. How about Sodate / Soldate 60?
Appreciate your response.
Thanks,
Rog Coman
Fish Hook Pottery
Montrose, CO
Ron Roy on fri 21 may 04
Hi Rog,
We used 4 different bodies - you can see the dilatometer charts for then in
chapter 5 for example. Some glazes work better on darker clays - some work
better on porcelain. A special note re Waterfall - don't use it on
porcelain - it will run. Do test it on the clays you use - and please let
us know if the results.
In the end - we all have our own likes and dislikes - what we like is often
quite different from others. The best advice I can give you is to test our
glazes till you settle on some you like - but make sure you know what you
did to get them to look that way.
All the pots in our book were dipped - we used the dry finger in well
stirred glaze test to ascertain glaze thickness. We find - generally - if
you can just see some skin through the glaze - where your finger joins the
nail - the thickness will be good in most cases - if you don't leave the
pot in too long.
It does not work for dark glazes however and Waterfall needs to be applied
in just the right way to get it too look it's best.
Application is crucial with some glazes - developing a system to gauge
thickness will be rewarding in the long run. You might try to develop your
own - this is one I have seen used and is one of the best.
A method for determining glaze thickness.
For every glaze you use make two tiles of each clay you use.
Take a cup of each glaze and thin it down a bit so that a double dip gives
a "normal" thickness of glaze when a tile is dipped in for 3 seconds.
Glaze two tiles of each clay you use in each glaze you use - one dip
on most of the tile - wait for the glaze to dry enough (not completely)
then dip again covering 2/3 of the tile - let dry enough again so the third
dip will take more glaze on the last 1/3 of the tile.
You now have two tiles of each clay you use - with a single, double and
triple coat of each glaze you use.
Scratch through the glaze on one tile and fire the other one.
When you have the fired tiles you can now see - how thick the glaze has
to be to get the results you want by looking at the scratched tile - and
seeing how thick the glaze should be.
Now - when you start glazing - if you dip a tile in the glaze you are using
(after you have stirred it up) you can scratch through the glaze and compare
the thickness to your unfired glaze tile.
If the glaze is too thick - add water. If it's too thin you need to wait a day
and take some water off the glaze.
The best way to start - when glazing - is too take some water off before
you stir the glaze - and add it back in as needed - then add more water if
it's still too thick.
RR
>I have your book and probably missed the part about glaze application. Are
>your glazes dipped, poured, brushed or sprayed? I am about to start using some
>of them (love the Waterfall Brown) and need to understand how to apply them.
>Also, as stated in your book, you have used a brown clay for the work in the
>book. I throw a lot of Laguna B-mix and was wondering if you had any
>experience with light/white clay. How about Sodate / Soldate 60?
>
>Appreciate your response.
>Thanks,
>Rog Coman
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Carol Tripp on sun 23 may 04
Please see
http://lsv.ceramics.org/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0405C&L=CLAYART&P=R19244
for Ron Roy's message about glaze application regarding MC6G and all others.
I just have one short note to add; the high calcium MC6G glazes need to be
thinner rather than thicker. More like skim milk, not 4% or cream. I have
found that if I keep these glazes thicker, they run and have less tendancy
to develope matt crystals. As usual, it's test test test. (When I made one
for the first time, I was miffed. Then I re-read the section and saw the
recommendation to keep this glaze on the thin side. I re-tested with the
same test batch, water added, and got a whole different look the second
time.)
Best regards,
Carol
Dubai, UAE
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Rog Coman on sun 23 may 04
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the explanations- RE: glaze application and testing of the clay bodies I use with various glazes. I intend to use several of the glazes in your book and will keep you posted on the results.
Best Regards,
Rog Coman
Fish Hook Pottery
Montrose, CO
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