May Luk on sun 28 feb 10
Hello all;
When do you burnish your pots if that is your style? I was looking at
Magdalene Odundo's pots. I see that she puts slip and then burnishes
them before gas firing. Is there other stage and suitable time for
burnishing?
Does burnishing take the place of glazing as a decorative surface?
I made some test tiles for testing underglaze colors. I burnished a
couple with the back of a spoon and I think I essentially made some
hot press paper like surface for painting. When they are bone dried, I
will see how they differ from non burnished slabs.
Thanks and regards
May
--
http://twitter.com/MayLuk
Allyson May on mon 1 mar 10
Hey May,
I burnish most of my work at the bone dry stage. I use essentially the =3D
same process as Michael Weisner (sp?) and the Mata Ortiz potters with =3D
the exception of the order of the oil and water. They use oil first and =
=3D
then water. I do water first and then oil...just works better for me. =3D
I have burnished at the leather hard stage as well as using slips and =3D
terra sig but still prefer to burnish just the clay body when bone dry. =
=3D
You can see some of my work at =3D
www.stoneycreekpottery.com in the =3D
gallery section.=3D20
The answer to your question about "does burnishing take the place of =3D
glazing" would be yes in my opinion. I am going for the shine and =3D
wouldn't want glaze to cover that surface. I don't know why you would =3D
take the time to burnish and then glaze over it. There may be those who =
=3D
do this...don't know why though. None of my burnished work is =3D
functional. A burnished surface is not a food safe surface to my =3D
knowledge.
You mentioned underglazes. I have experimented with Amaco Velvets =3D
underglazes and many of them will burnish onto dry clay. They act =3D
almost like a slip. I have taken these and done naked raku with them =3D
with very good results.
Peace,
Allyson May
www.stoneycreekpottery.com
Snail Scott on mon 1 mar 10
On Feb 28, 2010, at 8:25 PM, May Luk wrote:
> When do you burnish your pots if that is your style? I was looking at
> Magdalene Odundo's pots. I see that she puts slip and then burnishes
> them before gas firing. Is there other stage and suitable time for
> burnishing?
Burnishing takes place in the window
between stiff leather-hard and bone-dry.
One go-around while it still has a slight
'give', to set the surface on the right track.
It will look shiny at this point. The shine
won't survive drying, but it sets the stage
for the final burnish, and it is important.
Burnish again when dry, with just enough
lubricant (water or oil) to let the surface
particles slide and align for the final time.
Fire at or below about ^010 for max shine;
above that the shine will be diminished
in proportion to the temperature, as the
aligned particles start to shift position
during vitrification. The effect never goes
completely away, but will get more and
more subdued.
> Does burnishing take the place of glazing as a decorative surface?
Well, I'm not sure that you mean by 'take the
place'. It does not perform the same functions
except shininess. It is difficult to do both on the
same piece, as the optimum shine of burnishing
is reached well below the temperatures where
most glaze materials melt. In choosing to burnish,
(assuming you want maximum shine) you are
also choosing very low earthenware firing
temperatures.Burnishing does 'tighten' the surface,
making it noticeably less porous, but will not make
it waterproof, nor as abrasion-resistant as a glaze
would, nor can you rely on a vitrified body for that
purpose. Burnishing does give a satiny smooth
surface which is tactilely quite different from the
hard gloss of glaze, and less cold to the touch.
It also allows the clay itself to be its own finish,
which can serve aesthetic goals differently from
coatings like glaze. Of course, (as you noted),
slips can be burnished, too, allowing the look of
a differently-colored or patterned clay.
-Snail
Sumi von Dassow on mon 1 mar 10
May,
You have to burnish before firing - I burnish bone-dry but other potters
burnish leather-hard.
Burnishing generally takes the place of glazing - most glazes will not
adhere readily to a burnished surface,
and firing to a temperature suitable to melt glazes will dull a
burnished surface.
I know I have posted this link before - I hope everyone will forgive me
for it - but check out my book
"Low-firing and Burnishing" for more answers to your questions. To find
out more about the book
go to http://ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/low-firing-and-burnishing/
In my DVD "Pit Firing and Burnishing" I demonstrate burnishing using a
stone and using terra sigillata.
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore/pit-firing-and-burnishing/
Sumi
>
> When do you burnish your pots if that is your style? I was looking at
> Magdalene Odundo's pots. I see that she puts slip and then burnishes
> them before gas firing. Is there other stage and suitable time for
> burnishing?
>
> Does burnishing take the place of glazing as a decorative surface?
>
> I made some test tiles for testing underglaze colors. I burnished a
> couple with the back of a spoon and I think I essentially made some
> hot press paper like surface for painting. When they are bone dried, I
> will see how they differ from non burnished slabs.
>
> Thanks and regards
> May
>
> --
> http://twitter.com/MayLuk
>
>
>
--
Sumi von Dassow
www.herwheel.com
sumi@herwheel.com
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