Beth Wyatt on sun 22 jul 07
Greetings from a soggy Puget Sound (major rain here in July!)
Throughout the years, I think my glaze tests have taken every clay
shape imaginable...from little buttons to abandoned casserole lids...
and I'm still looking for that optimum one--good for layering glazes,
wonderfully storable, maybe even stackable ?, easy to fit around a
kiln load, easy to organize & good to teach with. What have all of
you found to be the best format?
Thanks in advance for your ideas!
Beth
Ben Shelton on mon 23 jul 07
I have made an extrusion die for glaze test tiles. It is shapes like and
upside down letter"T". The vertical portion narrows right near the base and
I punch a hole just above this spot. They are about 3 " tall and are smooth
on one side with texture on the other. Mark them well. I use a number stamp
to mark the type of clay in the wet tile then use a small coping saw that I
have adapted as a cutoff wire. cut them as wide as you like.
When fired use a marker to write the glaze info on them then snap off the
foot. They can be stored easily and if need be wired to a bucket handle or
hung on a peg board.
An alternative would be to mark them on one side then use a resist over the
markings.
I also double or triple dip at an angle to test the effects of thickness on
the glaze.
Have fun, Hope this helps.
Ben
David Hendley on mon 23 jul 07
I like extruded test tiles. You can design them so they have
both vertical and horizontal surfaces, you can design them
to have raised or recessed lines, to show how the glaze responds
to texture, and you can add edges to keep runny glazes from
running off the test tile.
If you want them to be easily storable of stackable, that could
also be designed into the die.
Once you make the die, you can make 100 test tiles in less than
half an hour.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
> Throughout the years, I think my glaze tests have taken every clay
> shape imaginable...from little buttons to abandoned casserole lids...
> and I'm still looking for that optimum one--good for layering glazes,
> wonderfully storable, maybe even stackable ?, easy to fit around a
> kiln load, easy to organize & good to teach with. What have all of
> you found to be the best format?
>
Karin Abromaitis on tue 24 jul 07
One system I've been very impressed with, but have not gotten around to implementing myself is what Ruth Ballou does. She makes slab tiles with stamped pattern to display texture (ala Ian Currie). The slabs are card file size-4 X 6 and she writes all the pertinent info on the back and files them just like cards. Everything at her fingertips.
Karin A.
David Hendley wrote:
I like extruded test tiles. You can design them so they have
both vertical and horizontal surfaces, you can design them
to have raised or recessed lines, to show how the glaze responds
to texture, and you can add edges to keep runny glazes from
running off the test tile.
If you want them to be easily storable of stackable, that could
also be designed into the die.
Once you make the die, you can make 100 test tiles in less than
half an hour.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
> Throughout the years, I think my glaze tests have taken every clay
> shape imaginable...from little buttons to abandoned casserole lids...
> and I'm still looking for that optimum one--good for layering glazes,
> wonderfully storable, maybe even stackable ?, easy to fit around a
> kiln load, easy to organize & good to teach with. What have all of
> you found to be the best format?
>
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June Perry on wed 25 jul 07
I throw mine doggie dish style with texture in the center of the tile using
a serrated texture tool. That way I get to see how a glaze breaks. I like
the doggie dish style because you get to see how the glaze reacts front and
back, as well as the vertical movement of the glaze which you don't get with a
test tile that's laying flat. I impress a little area at the base of the tile
for glaze to pool a bit.
David's extruded tiles are the way to go especially if you make a lot of
tests and I definitely have that on my list of "to dos".
I also put a hole in the top center of each tile for hanging or stringing.
You can store them strung and hung or you can hang them on plywood. In one
of my old studios I had a section of plywood pieces with small "L" shaped
hooks on both sides of each panel. The panels were attached to 2X4's top and
bottom with hardware that would allow them to swing both ways. You can hang them
in numerical order or according to color, type, etc. I have found that to be
the most convenient way to store the ones that I would want to reference the
most.
Now I have to find a place in my studio or kiln room to do that again.
Currently all my tiles are sitting in buckets waiting for a permanent home.
Regards,
June
http://shambhalapottery.blogspot.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery
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June Perry on wed 25 jul 07
Forgot to mention that I try to dip the glaze about 3 times with the
thickest part at the top. I also, very often, put a narrow strip of my porcelain
slip on the iron bearing bodies and a 2" iron slip on the right side of the
porcelain tiles.
You can check out my glaze and slip pages at my web site to see photos of
these tiles.
Regards,
June (up to our ears in our latest construction project - a new first floor
master suite)
http://shambhalapottery.blogspot.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery
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Alisa Clausen on wed 25 jul 07
Since I have had an extruder the past few years, I extrude my tiles.
I extrude long pipes, either round or square and lay them out.
Cut them into 4 inches tall segments.
Paddle a pattern on 2 sides.
I squeeze close the top of the short extrusion. Some times I put a hole in
the top so I can hang them up in sets.
On the bottom edge, I cut 4 half inch incisions and flatten the edge out
into 4 flanges that meet as much as possible.
I cut a groove all the way around the bottom of the test tile.
The flange and groove oftens forces drips to spread horizontally out and
if there is still surplus glaze, the flange will catch the drips.
I often set them up on fired slaps to protect my shelves.
To dry the tiles, I stand them up to be sure that they will stand up after
firing. They are narrow enough to fit into plastic cup of test glaze and
long enough with texture to get an idea of the glaze.
My tiles must stand up because I think it important to see how much a
glaze may move. They are not particularly stackable like slapbs, but give
me a lot of information.
I usually number them on the inside and number the glaze recipe in my book
accordingly. After they are fired, I write glaze name on the fired tile
I always identify the tile on the inside because if a glazes flows a lot,
it often covers my markings on the edge of the tile.
Usually I make about 100 tests a time and it takes very little time.
Best regards,
Alisa in Denmark
John Kudlacek on sat 28 jul 07
Please excuse if this has already been mentioned (its late and I don't
want to read all of the replys) but I use small flat tiles with a little
slip and sgraffito for texture. I drill a hole in the bottom of the tile
for hanging on a wire or nail after firing. To fire I lean the tiles up
against the interior walls of shallow dog style dishes which have a
concentric wall or two*. These dishes/trays I threw out of heavily grogged
clay. On the flat bottom of the dishes I put alumina or flint to absorb
runny glaze.
*Sort of like a modified bunt pan or angel food cake pan.
John
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