Janet Kaiser on wed 21 mar 01
Most commonly used glaze? We are talking about studio
potters, not industry? Right? Otherwise we would have
to say the high-fired vitreous Lavatory Glaze is No.
One in this hit parade, closely followed by the
standard, universal Crockery Glaze for all those
commercially produced wall tiles, cups and saucers,
planters etc... Third would be Hotel Ware Glaze. Must
be many million pieces of that produced annually?
Studio potters? Surely we must first decide whether
earthenware or stoneware is most used/produced by
studio potters before we can guess about a glaze? I see
a lot more stoneware - probably about 90% of all work -
but that is just here in my little corner of the world.
Many countries have very few stoneware potters...
Indeed, most of Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia
cannot afford the energy costs of high-fired ware,
whether it is stoneware or porcelain. And ceramic
tradition in countries like Italy makes the stoneware
potter a complete oddity, even if they are not
constricted by cost and local supplies / materials.
But then there is the question of all those cone 6
glaze users. Is what they produce technically
earthenware or stoneware?
Of classical stoneware I would say No. One is Celadon
or close relatives thereof.
Number One Earthenware Glaze? Hummm... Now that lead is
a no-no and the traditional clear honey glaze unheard
of IN THE WEST these days?. However, I suspect that a
great many potters in other countries still use the
traditional lead glazes so would tip on a standard
lead-based clear glaze.
But am I being awkwardly INTERNATIONAL again?
Janet Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
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