dianamp@COMCAST.NET on tue 27 oct 09
Dear Clayarters:=3D20
I will display my ignorance once again.=3D20
During the studio move at EMU=3DC2=3DA0=3D20
we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label.=3D20
I vaguely remember someone using them for raku a long time ago.=3D20
Could it be copper sulphate? =3DC2=3DA0And what are they used for?=3D20
Thanks,=3D20
Diana Pancioli=3D20
Deborah Maxwell on tue 27 oct 09
I use them for pit firing and get great results if it's copper sulphate.
=3D20
=3D20
=3D20
Deborah J. Bassett-Maxwell
Red Mudd Studio=3D2C LLC
640 Richman Road
Kimball=3D2C MI 48074
810.367.7001
maxwelldeborah(at)hotmail(dot)com
www.redmuddstudio.com
maxwelldeborah.esty.com
=3D20
=3D20
> Date: Tue=3D2C 27 Oct 2009 14:59:47 +0000
> From: dianamp@COMCAST.NET
> Subject: blue crystals
> To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>=3D20
> Dear Clayarters:=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> I will display my ignorance once again.=3D20
> During the studio move at EMU =3D20
> we found a bucket of bluish crystals=3D2C no label.=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> I vaguely remember someone using them for raku a long time ago.=3D20
> Could it be copper sulphate? And what are they used for?=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> Thanks=3D2C=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> Diana Pancioli=3D20
=3D20
_________________________________________________________________
New Windows 7: Find the right PC for you. Learn more.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pc-scout/default.aspx?CBID=3D3Dwl&ocid=3D3=
DPID=3D
24727::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WWL_WIN_pcscout:102009=3D
Cindy Gatto on tue 27 oct 09
Diana,
It sounds like it could be copper sulphate. Without seeing it no one could=
=3D
really know for sure. But it does have a very distinct look I have heard=
=3D
of it being used for raku I was told you're supposed to make a solution=3D
and spray it on the piece I think as it is coming out of the kiln. I trie=
=3D
d it once several years ago but didn't see anything so just let it fall by=
=3D
the wayside. But, what i do use it for always is aluminun foil saggar the=
=3D
type where you paint the pot with ferric chloride when I wrap the pots in=
=3D
the aluminum foil I add the copper sulphate. I use it as a constant. That=
=3D
plus the ferric chloride and kosher salt are my constants and I am gettin=
=3D
g beautiful results.
The only other thing I can think it could be would be those "crystals" th=
=3D
at come in some commercial low fire glazes. I think there called crystalto=
=3D
nes or something like that. You can buy just the crystals. I know Standard=
=3D
clay out of Pittsburgh used to sell them but I think they would be kind=3D
of pricey to have a bucket full. They are used in very small amounts so=3D
again a bucket full seems unlikely.
Cindy Gatto
The Mudpit
www.mudpitnyc.com
Snail Scott on tue 27 oct 09
On Oct 27, 2009, at 9:59 AM, dianamp@COMCAST.NET wrote:
> we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label...
> Could it be copper sulphate? =3DA0And what are they used for?
Very likely copper sulfate. It makes nice red flashing
in low-temp saggar firings, pit firings and the like. It
is sold in hardware stores and garden centers to
kill roots if they are infiltrating your sewer pipes.
Check out the October 09 issue of Sculpture magazine
for a photo of the house that was submerged in copper
sulfate by Roger Hiorns.
-Snail=3D
Dannon Rhudy on tue 27 oct 09
Diana Pancioli said:
I will display my ignorance once again.
During the studio move at EMU
we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label.......
Diana, they are most likely copper sulphate.
My students used them for pit firing - some
wonderful reds, that way. We just dissolved
the crystals in water, soaked the bisque wares
in it (or some brushed it on here and there).
The pots must of course be left to dry completely
before firing. You can also just pack some of
the crystals in with the firing; when they combust,
some of the copper will be caught in the wares.
The only other purpose that I know of for them
is putting them into the waste water lines to kill
off roots growing in the lines. Cheap at the hardware
store, expensive at clay suppliers.
best - Dannon
Jess McKenzie on tue 27 oct 09
Here's a good web site for flam colors:
http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml
~joan and jess
dianamp@COMCAST.NET, wrote:
... I will display my ignorance once again.
During the studio move at EMU=3DA0
we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label.
I vaguely remember someone using them for raku a long time
ago. Could it be copper sulphate? =3DA0And what are they used for?
Thanks,
Diana Pancioli
William & Susan Schran User on tue 27 oct 09
On 10/27/09 10:59 AM, "dianamp@COMCAST.NET" wrote:
>=3D20
> I will display my ignorance once again.
> During the studio move at EMU=3DA0
> we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label.
> I vaguely remember someone using them for raku a long time ago.
> Could it be copper sulphate? =3DA0And what are they used for?
Sounds like copper sulphate to me.
We used it on saggar fired pots and foil saggar pots.
Bill
--=3D20
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
dianamp@COMCAST.NET on tue 27 oct 09
Thanks,
Diana
----- Original Message -----
From: "William & Susan Schran User"
To: dianamp@COMCAST.NET, Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 3:42:13 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: Re: blue crystals
On 10/27/09 10:59 AM, "dianamp@COMCAST.NET" wrote:
>
> I will display my ignorance once again.
> During the studio move at EMU
> we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label.
> I vaguely remember someone using them for raku a long time ago.
> Could it be copper sulphate? And what are they used for?
Sounds like copper sulphate to me.
We used it on saggar fired pots and foil saggar pots.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Glistering Phaeton on tue 27 oct 09
Gonna make you a spectroscope and then learn "the characteristic odor of
rotting radishes" (that'd be selenium)!
-Adam
Los Angeles
"Down, down, I come; like glistering Phaeton, wanting the manage of unruly
jades."
-William Shakespeare, King Richard II
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Des & Jan
Howard
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 3:25 PM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: blue crystals
Jess
Thanks heaps for the reference.
Gonna make me a spectroscope!
Des
Jess McKenzie wrote:
> Here's a good web site for flam colors:
> http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml
--
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
Lue NSW
Australia
2850
02 6373 6419
www.luepottery.hwy.com.au
-32.656072 149.840624
Jess McKenzie on tue 27 oct 09
Des
For you and ol' glistering there, there are some little color
squares to tell you what to look for.
And, for the original poster: If I had an unlabled container
of blue crystals, and i really wanted to know their identity,
I'd:
1. Hire a chemist to run a qual analysis. OR
2. Call the local environmental enforcers and tell them about
it. They'll be right out.
Or you could build a spectroscope...~jess
Date sent: Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:25:10 +1100
Send reply to: Des & Jan Howard
From: Des & Jan Howard
Subject: Re: blue crystals
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
[ Double-click this line for list subscription options ]
Jess
Thanks heaps for the reference.
Gonna make me a spectroscope!
Des
Jess McKenzie wrote:
> Here's a good web site for flam colors:
> http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml
--
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
Lue NSW
Australia
2850
02 6373 6419
www.luepottery.hwy.com.au
-32.656072 149.840624
Des & Jan Howard on wed 28 oct 09
Diana
Dissolve a pinch or two in teaspoon of warm water.
Sandpaper a piece of mild steel nice & shiny.
Pour solution over steel.
Copper sulphate will give a copper coat to the steel.
Des
dianamp@COMCAST.NET wrote:
> we found a bucket of bluish crystals, no label.
> Could it be copper sulphate?
--
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
Lue NSW
Australia
2850
02 6373 6419
www.luepottery.hwy.com.au
-32.656072 149.840624
Des & Jan Howard on wed 28 oct 09
Adam
I'm glad there wasn't a taste test included.
Des
Glistering Phaeton wrote:
> Gonna make you a spectroscope and then learn "the characteristic odor of
> rotting radishes" (that'd be selenium)!
--
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
Lue NSW
Australia
2850
02 6373 6419
www.luepottery.hwy.com.au
-32.656072 149.840624
Bruce Girrell on wed 28 oct 09
I, to would think that you probably have copper sulfate. Here is a simple t=
=3D
est for one of copper sulfate's properties:
Put the crystals in water and stir. Copper sulfate will dissolve and color =
=3D
the water blue. Few other potters' chemicals will dissolve in water.
Or, more accurately, if the crystals _don't_ dissolve, you can confirm that=
=3D
they are _not_ copper sulfate.
Bruce Girrell=3D
Jess McKenzie on wed 28 oct 09
Here's a nice lesson on the electromotive series and--absent a
"spectroscope"--a definitive test for your "copper sulfate":
1. Dissolve crystals in hot water to a saturated solution
(undissolved crystals will remain). Pour off the liquid and
take it to step 2.
2. Slowly add ammonia solution, as concentrated as you have,
until a precipitate (ppt) forms, then add more until the ppt
begins to dissolve. You can add ammonia until the ppt is
completely gone, but this time leave some of the ppt to make
sure you don't dilute too much. it will settle, leaving a
bright deeper blue soln.
3. Take a small piece of brass, shine it a bit, then wash it
with a good detergent. Dip, or drop the brass into the
solution, or just flood the soln onto the brass.
4. If copper is present, brown-to-black finely divided copper
will "flash" onto the brass.
So far as I know, only copper-containing solutions will do
this. Try it first with known copper sulfate, so you'll know
what a positive result looks like. Be careful with the
ammonia. Remember, copper salts are toxic.
~jess
PS: The method is good for ornamental brass--the copper flash
will take a nice, gentle polish on a rouge wheel.
.....................................
Bruce Girrell wrote:
I, to would think that you probably have copper sulfate. Here
is a
simple test for one of copper sulfate's properties:
Put the crystals in water and stir. Copper sulfate will
dissolve and
color the water blue. Few other potters' chemicals will
dissolve in
water. Or, more accurately, if the crystals _don't_ dissolve,
you can
confirm that they are _not_ copper sulfate.
Bruce Girrell
Des & Jan Howard on wed 28 oct 09
Jess
Thanks heaps for the reference.
Gonna make me a spectroscope!
Des
Jess McKenzie wrote:
> Here's a good web site for flam colors:
> http://webmineral.com/help/FlameTest.shtml
--
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
Lue NSW
Australia
2850
02 6373 6419
www.luepottery.hwy.com.au
-32.656072 149.840624
| |
|
