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shinos

updated sun 3 oct 04

 

Meunier Joyce Lee on wed 26 jun 96

June and Dawn,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have tested all the glazes you offered
and the firing instructions you suggested. I tested them on several
different cone l0 claybodies. They are terrific. Now I'll try a few on
pots and see what happens. My test tiles were large ( I think), about 6 by
6 going from one brushed layer to five layers. The ones were too thin, of
course, and the fives probably too thick, but I did get a fairly clear
picture of what to expect - at least, on a flat surface. I understand that
as a novice I was very fortunate to have you respond since I could have
spent a lifetime attempting to gather this material on my own. Clayarters
are the best!

Joyce
Let's don't talk about the heat.

June Perry on thu 27 jun 96

Dear Joyce:

You are most welcome for the recipes. Glad they turned out well for you. I
don't know how you deal with your test tiles but I thought I'd share with you
my own technique. I throw a doggie dish shape leaving most of the center
free of clay except the one and a half inches closest to the vertical part
of the dish. And then I cut tiles in the desire dsize when almost leather
hard. While the doggie dish is freshly thrown, I use a small wood texture
comb and texture the center of the form while still on the wheel (with the
wheel turning). This gives me an indication of how the glaze will break on a
textured surface. Then I put porcelain slip on the right side of each leather
hard tile so I have some indicatiion of the difference effects (and they are
sometimes profoundly different in color and texture). The doggie dish shape
also allow me to see how the glaze flows.
Glad I could be of help. I have over 1300 glazes in my old file maker pro and
hopefully next winter I will revise the database (it needs some work) and
enter the other 1700 plus glaze recipes!

Best regards!
June Perry
EMail: Gurushakti@aol.com

Joyce Lee on fri 27 nov 98

Thank you to John Dellow, the flowerpot man, for gently and humorously
reminding me that shame should be heaped upon my head for wanting
"predictability from a philosophical, happy-accident japanese glaze."
Well, yes, he's right. That is the path many of my journeys take and
that's where they often end. Like a lot of us, I enjoy something
BECAUSE of its unpredictability, work with it, attempt to bring it in
line with more traditional wisdom, perhaps succeed, and promptly lose
interest. Soooo, in light of my own character and past behaviors,
naturally, as the shinos and forms have improved, I am rushing about
attempting to lose the trait I loved in them most in the first
place...their penchant for being different each time I fire. Got it!
THERE'S the pony.

Joyce
In the Mojave grateful for more than I could ever list...and disliking
that being "grateful" is becoming a pop culture activity...knowing full
well that there are worse things...

Les Crimp on tue 13 nov 01


Still Life Stationery from StationeryCentral



Les Crimp
Studio Potter




Hi -

I am wood-firing and am using shinos (Warren MacKenzie, etc.).

But I am not satisfied that I know what a shino is, and why!

Is there a real good source of materials that I can read about this wonderful glazing method?

Any information that y'all can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Les Crimp on that Island in the Pacific.
lcrimp@home.com

Hank Murrow on wed 14 nov 01


> Hi -
>
> I am wood-firing and am using shinos (Warren MacKenzie, etc.).
>
> But I am not satisfied that I know what a shino is, and why!
>
> Is there a real good source of materials that I can read about
>this wonderful glazing method?
>
> Any information that y'all can offer will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Les Crimp on that Island in the Pacific.
> lcrimp@home.com


Dear Les;

There are at least two schools of practice regarding shinos. Some
follow the Virginia Wirt 'soda ash school' with its attendant carbon
trapping, irridescence, etc. Some follow the Japanese model, with attendant
crawling and no carbon trapping, and no soda ash. It may interest you to
know that the Japanese originals were fired in anagamas in saggars for ten
days or so. Also, these ares were only made for about two generations
around Mino and Tajime. The Korean potters brought/ccaptured by Hideoshi
brought with them the Noborigama (multi-chambered) kiln, which fired so hot
and so fast that the lovely soft white surfaces fired clear grey and then
became Oribe ware. Same materials......different fire.

I know little about the Wirt glaze family, but can tell you about
an approach to the "no stinkin' sody-ash" school. Have a look at the
September issue of Ceramics Monthly for an article I wrote about firing
this sort of shino, with recipes, etc. Also, a short article about my kiln
design. I fire my shinos in that kiln as well as an anagama. Been working
on some Black pulled Seto pieces as well.

Good Hunting, Hank in Eugene

Hank Murrow on sun 10 aug 03


On Sunday, August 10, 2003, at 10:31 AM, Les wrote:

> Tony C./Mel/ Ron ( or any other Clayarters) -
>
> We have a co-op gallery in Courtenay, B.C. (The Potters Place). We
> are going to hold a Shino Month in the gallery as many of us use
> shinos in our work both wood-fired and gas.
>
> We were discussing how best to advise/teach our customers about shinos
> and we were unable to come up with a description that we felt was
> sufficient for our customers.
>
> So, being a regular Clayarter, I thought about y'all and hoped it
> would not be imposition to ask you if you could help me with the
> wording of this little "hand-out" for our customers. Any help or
> advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA

Dear Les;

One of the best things I have seen on the Shino Revival/American Shino
scene was written by Warren McKenzie for the American Shino Show
catalog for the Babcock Gallery in NYC. Laid out the history pretty
well. Don't know how useful it would be in a marketing sense, however.

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

Les on sun 10 aug 03


Tony C./Mel/ Ron ( or any other Clayarters) -

We have a co-op gallery in Courtenay, B.C. (The Potters Place). We are going to hold a Shino Month in the gallery as many of us use shinos in our work both wood-fired and gas.

We were discussing how best to advise/teach our customers about shinos and we were unable to come up with a description that we felt was sufficient for our customers.

So, being a regular Clayarter, I thought about y'all and hoped it would not be imposition to ask you if you could help me with the wording of this little "hand-out" for our customers. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA

Les Crimp on Vancouver Island where we have not had any "real" rain in 2 months...very dry forests.
lcrimp@shaw.ca

Les on sun 17 aug 03


John -

Merci beaucoup!

Les.
lcrimp@shaw.ca

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Britt"
To:
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2003 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: Shinos


> It is December 1992, Volume 21, Number 1 page 62.
>
> John Britt
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

Les on sun 17 aug 03


Hi All -

I am trying to write about shinos for a show we are having in our gallery.

Ron Roy advised there is an srticle in Studio Potter :

there is an excellent article in a pst Studio Potter magazine by Jim
Robinson - some thing like "the many faces of shino" I have looked all
through my magazines and I can't find my copy - ask on ClayArt someone will
know wich one it is.


Can any one advise the date of the issue of this article? TIA

Les Crimp on Vancouver Island.
lcrimp@shaw.ca

John Britt on sun 17 aug 03


It is December 1992, Volume 21, Number 1 page 62.

John Britt

Craig Martell on mon 18 aug 03


Hi:

A potter from Los Angeles sent me an email about the woodash that Axner was
selling and in the process of communicating with him I looked at his
website. There are some very nice shino pots there, especially the
teabowls. His name is D Michael Coffee and the website
is: www.dmcarts.com if any of you might like to give it a peek. I have
no affiliation with Michael and I will not receive a commission from any
sales etc,, ad nauseum. I just liked the work and thought some of you
might too.

regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon

Chris Rupp on mon 18 aug 03


Yes! Michael makes some nice work. Sells a lot on Ebay also! Check it out!

Chris
Sunny Santa Barbara


>From: Craig Martell
>Reply-To: Clayart
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: shinos
>Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 08:27:15 -0700
>
>Hi:
>
>A potter from Los Angeles sent me an email about the woodash that Axner was
>selling and in the process of communicating with him I looked at his
>website. There are some very nice shino pots there, especially the
>teabowls. His name is D Michael Coffee and the website
>is: www.dmcarts.com if any of you might like to give it a peek. I have
>no affiliation with Michael and I will not receive a commission from any
>sales etc,, ad nauseum. I just liked the work and thought some of you
>might too.
>
>regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.

_________________________________________________________________
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Ababi on tue 19 aug 03


Do you mean Craig that if I will buy woodash from Axner I will have such
nice wares?
Do they sell coffee too?
Have more experience than with Shino!
Ababi Sharon
Glaze addict
Kibbutz Shoval Israel
ababisha@shoval.org.il
http://members4.clubphoto.com/ababi306910
http://www.matrix2000.co.nz/Matrix%20Demo/Ababi.htm



-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Craig
Martell
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2003 5:27 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: shinos

Hi:

A potter from Los Angeles sent me an email about the woodash that Axner
was
selling and in the process of communicating with him I looked at his
website. There are some very nice shino pots there, especially the
teabowls. His name is D Michael Coffee and the website
is: www.dmcarts.com if any of you might like to give it a peek. I
have
no affiliation with Michael and I will not receive a commission from any
sales etc,, ad nauseum. I just liked the work and thought some of you
might too.

regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
.

Craig Martell on tue 19 aug 03


Ababi, the glaze addict, asked:
>Do you mean Craig that if I will buy woodash from Axner I will have such
>nice wares?

Hello Ababi:

No, that's not what I meant. Michael contacted me about the woodash and
that's how I had his website. The ash he used on the pots at his website
came from his neighbor's fireplace if I remember correctly. The ash from
Axner is no longer available so we will have to find another ingredient to
make "nice wares."

>Do they sell coffee too?

No again! The man's last name is Coffee, he is not a coffee
merchant. But, like most potters, if you were to visit him at his studio
he would probably offer you a cup of coffee.

>Have more experience than with Shino!

That's good!

regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon

Ababi on thu 21 aug 03


Hello Craig
I know Coffee's site sometimes and I love to see his works.
The fact that I cannot do these firing you do ( Gas and wood) is
prodding me to break the traditional limits of the "^6ox". About
Coffee's coffee I am sorry: The doctor says I should not! I will drink
tea with T pot or wear his T shirt!

Ababi Sharon
Glaze addict
Kibbutz Shoval Israel
ababisha@shoval.org.il
http://members4.clubphoto.com/ababi306910
http://www.matrix2000.co.nz/Matrix%20Demo/Ababi.htm



-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Craig
Martell
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 6:27 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: shinos

Ababi, the glaze addict, asked:
>Do you mean Craig that if I will buy woodash from Axner I will have
such
>nice wares?

Hello Ababi:

No, that's not what I meant. Michael contacted me about the woodash and
that's how I had his website. The ash he used on the pots at his
website
came from his neighbor's fireplace if I remember correctly. The ash
from
Axner is no longer available so we will have to find another ingredient
to
make "nice wares."

>Do they sell coffee too?

No again! The man's last name is Coffee, he is not a coffee
merchant. But, like most potters, if you were to visit him at his
studio
he would probably offer you a cup of coffee.

>Have more experience than with Shino!

That's good!

regards, Craig Martell Hopewell, Oregon
.

Ben on fri 27 aug 04


Hi folks,
I've been working with a couple of shinos out here in San Diego County =
and am curious about a couple of things. I'm mostly trying to get =
variations between reds and white. I've avoided carbon trapping so far =
because the few times I tried it I got way too much gray where I prefer =
more pink/peach/orange. Curious though, how to get it spotty or patchy.
So I'm looking at three different approaches, really looking for random =
contrasting rustic effect:
1. Trying Hank Murrows reoxidizing on cooling. Right now I only get =
reds where the application is this thin but I'm thinking this could run =
in some color even where it's thicker. ?? But not monotone on the whole =
piece, as some of his post seemed to indicate.
2. Iron oxide wash with brush
3. Varying glaze thickness with surface texture and brush application.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.=20

Ben

Hank Murrow on fri 27 aug 04


On Aug 27, 2004, at 10:22 AM, Ben wrote:

> Hi folks,
> I've been working with a couple of shinos out here in San Diego
> County and am curious about a couple of things. I'm mostly trying to
> get variations between reds and white. I've avoided carbon trapping
> so far because the few times I tried it I got way too much gray where
> I prefer more pink/peach/orange. Curious though, how to get it spotty
> or patchy.
> So I'm looking at three different approaches, really looking for
> random contrasting rustic effect:
> 1. Trying Hank Murrows reoxidizing on cooling. Right now I only get
> reds where the application is this thin but I'm thinking this could
> run in some color even where it's thicker. ?? But not monotone on the
> whole piece, as some of his post seemed to indicate.

Hank replies: Not at all. The red color will always vary with
thickness, because the body is the coloring(at least in mine where
there is no added iron). The oxidation soak will enhance, darken, and
redden the color regardless of thickness. I do not use Soda ash in my
shinos. See my article on shinos (and my kiln) @
www.ceramicsmonthly.org/mustreads/shinofire.asp

> 2. Iron oxide wash with brush

Lots of fun. Try a touch of Cobalt in the mixture.

> 3. Varying glaze thickness with surface texture and brush application.

I use a lot (1.5%) of Vee-Gum T som nthat the glaze may be very thick,
almost like a milkshake. I dip the pots into the glop and hold it for
some seconds before shaking the excess off. They stay wet for an hour
perhaps, before finally drying enough to handle some. I do not stack
these in the kiln until the next day, or even more radical crawling
will be the result.
>
> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

See above.

And Cheers from Hank in Eugene,
murrow.biz/hank

Lee Love on sat 28 aug 04


On Aug 27, 2004, at 10:22 AM, Ben wrote:

>> I prefer more pink/peach/orange. Curious though, how to get it spotty
>> or patchy.
>
I think Ken Masuzaki gets variation by putting different
shino/feldspars on top of others. I have been experimenting with
this, and my first experiments have been somewhat successful. When I
have some extra cash, I will buy some expensive hiratsu feldspar.
This is the spar the shinos use here in Japan.

> 2. Iron oxide wash with brush


Tony C. is having good luck using local river clay on top of shino. A
friend of mine in Minnesota used to get a similar effect putting temmoku
over shino. If you search the archives (don't know where my glaze book
is right now) you can find John Baymore's blue slip for under shino.

> 3. Varying glaze thickness with surface texture and brush application.


I used a hakame (straw) brush for contrasting coats. This
even works over shino that has been fired already. Soda ash helps the
top coat stay on.


>>
>> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>

Most of my wood kiln does not reduce heavily. It does
reduce, but oxidizes at the end of each stoke. My old shinos would
work in this kiln, but I have some new ones that work pretty well.
Still tweaking them.

--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan http://mashiko.org
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/ WEB LOG
http://public.fotki.com/togeika/ Photos!

Hank Murrow on fri 1 oct 04


On Oct 1, 2004, at 7:43 AM, Scott Paulding wrote:
>
> I was wondering if anybody could give me background on what makes a
> shino
> a shino, or point me to some books that talk about it.
> The end result I'm looking for is a crawly shino, but more
> importantly, I
> want to understand why it crawls, not just have a recipe.

Dear Scott;

Since you ask for principle, not just a recipe, I will try this one on.

Shinos originated in Momoyama era Japan, and were their first white
glazes. They consisted of almost all feldspar with some small additions
of ash and/or clay. The feldspar was crushed in one of those ancient
(but contemporary to them!) water-powered trip hammers. The action of
these produced fine powders having a plate-like form because of the way
they were processed. Thus, when the piece was raw-glazed, there was
enough shrinkage to crawl. They were fired in big single-chambered
(ana) kilns (gama), which were inefficient, taking ten days to two
weeks to fire to around C/8. This all happened around four hundred
years ago, and lasted all of 50 years before the captured Korean
potters brought their multi-chambered (nobori) kiln (gama) design. The
second of these was built in Mino, where the Shinos had been made. The
faster firing and higher temperatures made the same Shino materials
turn out grey and glassy instead of soft and white. These new wares
(from the same potters and materials, but in the new kilns) obviously
needed some decoration to liven the surface, so they added pools of
copper green, and borrowed textile designs to decorate the surface.
These wares were called Oribe (after the famous Tea master), and Shino
was pretty much forgotten until Toyozo Arakawa revived the whole
process by building an outmoded anagama kiln next to the site of the
oldest Shino kiln in Tajimi.

Potters in the West, including Warren McKenzie, loved the soft, white
Momoyama originals, and went in search of a western equivalent.
Virginia Wirt did some tests while studying with Warren which resulted
in a Shino-like glaze which became the type which spread across the US
eventually. Her version, and the many that soon followed it, consisted
of Soda Spar, spodumene, clay, and soda ash. The soluble soda ash gave
a gloss to the surface, promoted carbon trapping, and often exhibited
iridescence. This type of Shino is far removed from the Momoyama
originals, as Warren pointed out in his essay published in the catalog
for the American Shino Show at the Babcock Galleries in September 2001.
Speaking about modern renditions, even from Japan, Warren said, "I
cannot fall in love with the resulting pots. I can admire them, but
never lust after them."

There are potters working with the original Momoyama chemistry in the
US, Australia, and New Zealand, whose work sometimes comes close. Fine
examples come from Mark Rhodes and myself(definitely not bashful). Mine
are @ http://www.murrow.biz/hank on the Shino Page. There are legions
of potters working with the 'american' soda ash versions, and Malcolm
Davis' are a good example to check out. Others will add their expertise
here. My gig is the soda ash-free version.

Enough history!.......... you asked for principle and theory. At the
molecular level, I find that a typical Shino has a very low Silica to
Alumina ratio, running from 6 to 1 down to my 3.5 to 1. Lithium from
Spodumene allows these to melt and fuse into that soft white style
Shino that Warren likes. Lots of Kaolin promotes the crawling. Lots of
Sodium from the Neph Sye or Soda Spar promotes the firecolor, while
calcium kills it. The Lithium in the Spodumene also promotes the
firecolor. Soda ash promotes a glossy surface and carbon trapping
mostly when you get above 5%. They love to be over an irony body, but
seldom love much iron in the glaze. Love early reduction and a soak in
oxidation during the cooling (around 1800F), and they are sometimes
very tricky to layer with other glazes. YMMV!

Cheers to you for a good question (Got me writing, anyway),

Hank in Eugene
murrow.biz/hank

Scott Paulding on fri 1 oct 04


Hello,

I was wondeirng if anybody could give me background on what makes a shino
a shino, or point me to some books that talk about it. I've flipped
through the archives a bit, and haven't found much that actually speaks to
the chemistry/theory behind them. I've seen some recipes, and while there
are commomalities, I find myself wondering why this is?

The end result I'm looking for is a crawlly shino, but more importantly, I
want to understand why it crawls, not just have a recipe.

Thanks,

-scott

=====
"I should have been a plumber."
-Albert Einstein



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Ron Roy on sat 2 oct 04


Hi Scott,

You will find that shino glazes have certain things in common - like high
alumina and KNaO - low silica - no CaO and MgO.

The crawing part depends mostly on thickness with some of them - and firing
while still wet.

Kaolin is better for crawling than ball clay usually.

There is a wonderful article by Jim Robinson on shinos - lots of recipies
(48) - in Studio Potter - Dec 92 - Volume 21 - #1.

The most common material for shinos is Neph Sy - the next most common would
be Spodumene - then ball clays and kaolins.

RR


>I was wondeirng if anybody could give me background on what makes a shino
>a shino, or point me to some books that talk about it. I've flipped
>through the archives a bit, and haven't found much that actually speaks to
>the chemistry/theory behind them. I've seen some recipes, and while there
>are commomalities, I find myself wondering why this is?
>
>The end result I'm looking for is a crawlly shino, but more importantly, I
>want to understand why it crawls, not just have a recipe.
>
>Thanks,
>
>-scott

Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513