mel jacobson on sun 29 apr 07
i would not buy ready made glaze.
for $150 you will not get much.
but, with a $100 bucks you can buy some
glaze making material.
make a base glaze...30 gallons. cone 6...see: ron roy.
and add colorants to taste. iron, copper etc.
let the students experiment.
i sure would not buy glaze in a bottle.
mel
who learns anything?
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Elizabeth Priddy on sun 29 apr 07
I think that if you consider the actual time
allotted for "ceramics" in a standard art
curricula, not a program run by you for
years with some of the same students...
the normal time constraints for learning glazing,
not messing around with a bucket and some additives,
do not allow for formulation, chemistry, safety,
and history.
You have enough time with them to *maybe*
learn application and combination.
And if you are under public school restraints, you
have to be able to guarantee OSHA and HealthLabel
safe materials. Unfortunately, the bonafides of the
teacher will not come with that guarantee.
And so you use pre-fab glazes.
They learn something. They learn how to choose
appropriate colors and textures for their forms, they
learn how to layer glazes to make more interesting
colors. The learn safe handling procedures and if you
buy it dry, they learn to sieve and mix to the correct
consistency.
And *maybe* they learn a love for the mysterious chemistry
and will eventually go on to use *real* glazes.
I, for one, would never fire a student's glaze in my kilns.
The idiot factor could easily come into play now that I am firing at
three different temps. (The idiot being me when I listen to them
say, "yes, I am sure this is cone 6")
I may fire raku glazes in cone 7 wood, but that is my business,
my equipment, and my crap to clean up if necessary.
I think that is why, in a nutshell.
Respectfully,
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
----- Original Message ----
From: mel jacobson melpots2@VISI.COM
i sure would not buy glaze in a bottle.
mel
who learns anything?
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Sean Burns on mon 30 apr 07
>
>i sure would not buy glaze in a bottle.
>mel
>who learns anything?
>
Greetings,
I think you need to build on what works- the stakes are pretty
high. Teachers need to meet the needs of the institutions they work for
and those needs vary as well as the background of the teachers. Also to be
considered is the age appropriate nature of the materials in relation to
the project work the teacher is presenting the kids/students- what are
the real goals?
Last year I ran what I consider to be a successful clay mixing/glaze
mixing project that I am repeating in a modified way this year. It
involved mixing an off-white cone 6 porcelain from scratch- creating a
form from it that would be suitably designed for a blue /white
style of decoration (Ming) - Cobalt oxide decoration on the porcelain
before bisque- then formulation of the clear glaze by each student- they
did the percents- and application. I was really pleased with the depth of
learning as well as the end reults. Beyond pleased really........
These were also students who had come back for a second year of
ceramics with me and that was after going through our intro feeder
program. Students who had learned some of the ropes- figured out how to
use the tools- create a reasonable form with the clay- had an
understandintg of how a kiln fires- what those little pyrometric cones are
for.
When I started teaching at this public high school 13 years years ago-
I would have been unable to pull this off- I had ideas and building
techniques but glaze chemistry and the knowledge of how to run a shop was
a mystery- fortunately I had a mentor to get me started- I learned the
basic basics- how to mix a glaze from scratch- what the colorants would do-
but had no concept of what part the other materials were playing in the
chemistry- I am still on the road trying to get a handle on these things-
My advanced students get to come along for the ride- safely.
I was at a site visit at another high school a couple of months ago-
the teacher there ran the low fire Amaco in a bottle program- and it was
the right program for her and the school at that time- The school wanted a
basic clay experience for the students that met the state standards for
art education- and it did that. Some folks running clay classes/programs
are not driven to delve deeply into the physical properties of the
materials for a variety of reasons- not all of them bad.
I will keep the buckets out until someone makes me put them away though.
Good Glazing,
Sean Burns
Williamsburg, Ma.
or Palmer High School
Chris trabka on tue 1 may 07
A different solution is to use something like mason stains and one simple
clear overglaze. When I gave a hands on clay demonstration in the
California public schools (no art class) I used hand building and mason
stains. The mason stain can be applied directly to soft clay and then
textured and/or scratched through (scraffito) to change the look. This
allowed me to consider techniques that would not be used if all I had
were "traditional" glazes.
After 2 hours the student pieces were brought home, allowed to dry, bisqued
and then I applied the clear glaze. I did not have to worry about glaze too
thick, glaze drips, and making sure each student waxed the bottom of the
pot and cleaned off the glaze. A bit more work, but it allowed the students
to concentrate on creating the pot, and avoided a lot of problems with the
technical/glaze part of the process.
Chris
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