David Willhite on sat 27 oct 01
Wow Snail-Man,
I had no idea B-mix was called "B" for Butt! What a funny thing!
B-mix, to me, is the most romanticised clay body in the world, next to some
of the more famous porcelains from China... Either you love it or you hate
it! More people talk about that clay than any other that I've seen!
For me, the love afair has just begun and I have yet to fire my first load.
No other clay that I have tried throws with such ease! I just threw my
tallest one piece vase ever... it's drying on my kitchen table where I can
admire it.
It's a shame that Martin sold the recipe to Laguna... I hope he got really
good compensation for it. That kind of amazing clay body should have a
heavy royalty attatched to it - if it's going to be kept secret and
capitalized on.... Even better to give it away...
What a shame Martin couldn't have sold B-mix to thousands of customers like
Laguna is doing.
Is he still around? Does he kick himself? I wonder if he makes his own?
David W.
>From: Snail Scott
>To: "David Willhite"
>Subject: Re: Do glazes work on any clay?
>Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 11:17:48 -0700
>
>At 10:48 PM 10/24/01 -0700, you wrote:
>
> >
> >By the way... what kind of clay do you use? I like B-mix because it's
>white
> >and throws so very incredibly! I was amazed the first time I threw it!
> >
>
>Actually, I used to work for the guy who invented it, Martin
>Butt. When we sold it from our shop, we called it Butt Mix.
>When Martin sold the recipe to Laguna, I guess they thought it
>wasn't such a good name! ;-) (Good thing it wasn't a brown
>clay, I guess!) So now they call it B-Mix.
>
>I don't use it much - I do large handbuilt sculpture, so I
>like a gritty clay, preferably red. I used to mix my own, but
>I quit doing that. Now I am trying several commercial bodies,
>to try to find one that suits me. I'm currently using Laguna's
>Buff Sculpture. It has a great texture, but a nasty color.
>Their Red Stoneware (^5) has a nice color, but not much grog.
>I have to drive hundreds of miles to pick up either of them,
>as there is no local supplier. IMCO is closer, but they have
>no suitable body. I may eventually discuss custom mixes with
>them, though, if I get too frustrated. In the winter, when the
>pass gets closed so often, it's hard to drive for supplies,
>so I should probably start buying by the ton anyway, when I
>find a clay I can live with.
>
> >Also, what's your favorite glaze recipe? I'll add it to my archive!
>Just
> >let me know what the name of the clay you use it on is...
>
>My favorite glaze is a high-manganese glaze that came
>originally from Jun Kaneko. I don't have it to hand at
>the moment, but lots of similar recipes are in the archives,
>including this one. Seems to work OK on most ^4-6 clays
>I've tried.
>
> -Snail
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp
chris clarke on sun 28 oct 01
David,
Should have been Snail-Chick, He's a She. Anyway, B-mix is great but
flip that vase over. It tends to crack on large pieces if you're not
careful. I dry my work on marble so it pulls moisture and they dry more
evenly.
I've found I can throw way taller stuff with b-mix too. Had a cylinder
up to my shoulder the other day. I almost danced a jig, until my sleeve got
caught in it and destroyed it. No more sleeves for my, got the scissors
right out.
chris
temecula, california
chris@ccpots.com
www.ccpots.com
| |
|
