Andie Carpenter on fri 10 nov 00
Okay, here's installment #2: Amaco, Standard Ceramic Supply, and
Campbell's. I'm still working on a list of results for Spectrum glazes,
as I've tested many of them.
: ) Andie Carpenter
Handful of Earth Pottery
www.andie.net
-NOTE: These are my opinions, based on my firings to a hard cone 6 in
oxidation. Tested on Standard's 208 brown Stoneware, and Grolleg, where
noted.-
-AMACO-
EVERY Amaco glaze I have tried (about a dozen) have been disastrous.
Runny, ugly, flaky, or all of the above. I quit trying. It got too
expensive to keep testing even pints at a time, when I wasn't getting a
single good result. I called them once hoping they'd send me some
samples for free to keep testing, since I'd bought so many yucky ones
(which my the way, Standard Ceramic will do - they'll send two one pound
samples of any glazes with any order, and will be nice about it, too),
but Amaco wanted nothing to do with me or my glaze problems. So I gave
up on them entirely, don't even use their underglazes or pencils or
anything anymore. But someone on the list may have had a good experience
with them, in which case, please tell us all which of their glazes do
well in oxidation.
-STANDARD CERAMIC SUPPLY-
Sea Mist: YUMMY!!!! The most awesome glaze ever, true seafoam, very
runny (you should see my kiln shelves), very dependable - perfect,
perfect, glossy green. Breaks yellow where thin on porcelain, giving an
agate-like appearance, breaks to clear where thin on stoneware, layers
really well both over & under EVERYTHING. My top selling glaze.
Waxy White: I've only tested one pound of this, but I got a waxy white
crackle, on 208, 181, and Grolleg. Nice, except that when I went back to
use it again, it had settled into rock, and it has never really gone
back to the right consistency.
Clear & Clear Crackle Gloss: Really nice. I use their clear as a liner
(I buy by the gallon), and LOVE it, and the crackle is a nice addition
to that - really the same , except with a big crackle, which pops out
when gone over with india ink. Nice inside vases. Really the most
dependable bought clears I've found.
Dark Blue Gloss: I can't get this to work. I get spotty coverage and
some crawling, no matter what I do. Not sure what to say about this
glaze - I suspect it would be really great for someone else. In the
areas that ARE covered, it's a nice, deep, rich navy blue.
Blue Green & Mediterranean Mist: I keep getting almost the same color
for both of these - a frosty blue/green, pastel, breaking kind of blah
gray. Nice coverage, dependable, but does nothing for me personally. If
you like pastels, though, these would be good to test. They do layer
compatibly.
Pewter: Okay, I don't really like this glaze, BUT everyone else in the
world loves it, so I fill order after order for bowls in this glaze. I
don't really mind, since it's a pre-mix, and it's not terrible looking
or anything. It's a dependable, VERY dark green (now THAT'S a spruce!)
that goes silvery oil-spot looking where very thick, thus the pewter
name. Likes to go on pretty thick, not too runny, but good coverage.
Brushes and dips well. A keeper, really.
Chambray: My 2nd favorite glaze - now, on stoneware it is almost clear,
nothing special, but on porcelain it is a really light blue fading into
an opalescent lavender ... yum!!! Just fabulous. Dependable & brushes
and dips well.
Fog: They must take their names pretty seriously, because this is really
a "fog" - light gray fading into taupe, semi-matte. Truly doesn't do
anything for me, but it is pretty dependable, so probably worth testing.
Stormy Blue: I have never gotten anything remotely blue at all out of
this glaze, but I believe them, really I do. I get a brownish gray,
really pretty ugly. Blah.
Celadon: 99% of the time, this turns out HORRID - pinholes, porous,
weird fitting, baby blue. BUT once, on one piece, I got a true
reduction-looking celadon grayish green satin, with a spot where it
faded into a peach fuzz color, like a blushing cheek. Now, it has never
happened again, but I continue to test and hope, test and hope. If
anyone else has unlocked the secret of this glaze, please let me in on
it.
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