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copper oxide/now hematite

updated mon 28 jul 08

 

Allyson May on sun 27 jul 08


Hello Marian, Ivor, Angela,

I to have been off and on reading this thread but became interested when =
you mentioned hematite. I do a lot of naked raku which I burnish at the =
bone dry stage with agates. I stumbled across hematite one day and, =
without really knowing what it was, began using it to burnish my work. =
I use a lot of porcelain for this process and the hematite burnished it =
to a mirror shine without scratches. I thought I had found the miracle =
burnishing stone! Upon firing and reducing my work I discovered that =
the white areas were pink and some areas had definite red streaks. I =
was mystified. A little research on hematite gave me my =
answer...duh...hema, blood, blood stone, iron. Sometimes I'm a little =
slow on the up take. Anyway I learned to do a little research and be =
more selective when choosing my burnishing stones.

Peace,
Allyson May
Stoney Creek Pottery
Bloomington, IN
amay4@msn.com

Neon-Cat on sun 27 jul 08


Hi Allyson,

I learn a lot from what I call my "oh by the way" mishaps... but sometimes
not and then they're just maddening.
Some forms of hematite (not my local concretions) can be highly polished
themselves for a mirror-like appearance.
See hematite concretions here:
http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/concretions.htm
My favorite burnishing stones are of polished Snowflake Obsidian and green
Aventurine.

Happy weekend to all!

Marian

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Allyson May
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2008 5:57 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Copper oxide/now hematite

Hello Marian, Ivor, Angela,

I to have been off and on reading this thread but became interested when you
mentioned hematite. I do a lot of naked raku which I burnish at the bone
dry stage with agates. I stumbled across hematite one day and, without
really knowing what it was, began using it to burnish my work. I use a lot
of porcelain for this process and the hematite burnished it to a mirror
shine without scratches. I thought I had found the miracle burnishing
stone! Upon firing and reducing my work I discovered that the white areas
were pink and some areas had definite red streaks. I was mystified. A
little research on hematite gave me my answer...duh...hema, blood, blood
stone, iron. Sometimes I'm a little slow on the up take. Anyway I learned
to do a little research and be more selective when choosing my burnishing
stones.

Peace,
Allyson May
Stoney Creek Pottery
Bloomington, IN
amay4@msn.com