Ian Currie on sun 17 dec 00
Greetings
I've been watching the shino thread wondering if I can contribute
something... meanwhile working out how one actually manages to stay on
Clayart! This is my fourth try over the years. I think I may have it
sorted... filtering all the Clayart e-mails into their own folder and
hammering a tune on the delete key... and discovering discipline!
Anyway... a few points not covered so far as far as I've seen (though I may
have deleted some) regarding traditional shino... I think this thread
started with a consideration of carbon trap, and I have little to contribute
here that has not already been said. In response to a query by Rick
Mahaffey regarding carbon trap in Japanese shino, I don't remember seeing
any. They were after a different sort of glaze, and weren't using the
materials that give the strong carbon trap.
And in reply to Paul Taylor and Craig (Hi Craig)...
Bearing in mind that I was there almost 30 years ago, these are some of the
things I found...
The best glazes that produced the thick opaque white (or red or grey) shino
glazes were mainly ground feldspathic rock. The approach of the artist
potters in the Mino area (where Shino glaze comes from) was more to go and
find feldspars and try them, rather than get stuff out of a bag, or use a
seger formula etc.
Most of these glazes were quite coarsely ground. (Our glaze materials are
usually ground to at least 200#.) Some of the feldspathic material was
ground no finer than 30# (mesh per inch). This had an effect on the glaze
texture. In most cases there was no problem with it being "sandpapery",
probably because of the very long slow finish to the fire. I'm sure the
long firing has been mentioned on Clayart before.
Most (all?) traditional shino glaze is on a very porous clay. Sometimes it
feels like a stoneware glaze on an earthenware clay! This definitely
affects the quality of the glaze, and has implications for the possibility
of re-oxidation of the clay body (and iron slip if present) under the glaze
after it melts. It also has implications for glaze fit... sometimes there
was little or no crazing This is ususual for high-feldspar glazes.
All this adds up to the fact that we have little chance to do this sort of
glaze unless we are willing to go to some trouble. Certainly if we insist
on fast firing, electric kiln, fine commercial materials, vitreous stoneware
bodies.... we are not going to get anything like a traditional shino.
Having said that, there are many beautiful glazes that have arisen from the
shino tradition using these modern techniques and materials. I'm not that
interested in what we call them. Calling things names means we have to draw
lines between categories, which can be dificult or impossible to do.
Something I didn't find out is whether or not the old Shino pots were bisque
fired. Cracks on some pots suggest they might have been raw glazed when the
clay was bone dry. Anyone know about this??
If you are interested in reading more....
"Seto and Mino Ceramics" by Louise Allison Cort gives a definitive account
of the evolution of Mino pottery including Shino... many illustrations.
"Stoneware Glazes - A Systematic Approach" - my own book contains a chapter
devoted to Shino glaze. You can buy it from me (see below).
"Visiting the Mino Kiln" by Janet Barriskill including her translation of
"The Traditions and Techniques of Mino Pottery" by Arakawa, Toyozo.
Published by Wild Peony. Should be available from Ceramics: Art and
Perception and also Pottery in Australia. Both these Australian magazines
have web sites you could go to if you wish to obtain the book.
Make several people happy! buy my glaze books for yourself, or for a friend
for Christmas, and to make me happy too!! You can buy by credit card (or
money order or bank draft) at my web site:
http://ian.currie.to/
I can usually get a copy to most places in about a week by airmail.
One request... if you want me to read your response to anything I've sent to
Clayart, I suggest you Cc me a copy as well, as I miss large slabs of
Clayart postings in my effort to keep up with it each day....
ian@currie.to
Regards
Ian Currie
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