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blue secret

updated wed 27 mar 02

 

mel jacobson on sun 24 mar 02


well, i must be candid.
i have made a small fortune selling blue pots.
oatmeal, blue, orange, tan, brown.

it is my standard.

the secret is:

a small amount of chrome whenever you make
a cone 10 blue.
make sure the blue bleeds through the tan..makes it
very subtle. as it should be.

it becomes a soft teal.
or...aqua.

i can live with that..very well.
in fact, i love it.

`mother in law blue` is enough to make a grown
potter puke. i hate it.
tried last year and my pancreas quit.
almost killed me...never try that glaze again.
geez.
anyway, that is the secret.
mel

From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: http://www.pclink.com/melpots

Wanda Holmes on mon 25 mar 02


I would add that if you use cobalt alone, use very small amounts. In Ron &
John's zinc semi-matte for example, .5% is beautiful, 1.5% is good for some
of my tile applications, and 3% is harsh, ugly, over the top. wanda

-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of David Hendley
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 9:58 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: blue secret


My "secret" for blue glazes is simply that they have
to have something, anything, in them in addition to cobalt.
It could be chrome, but it could also be
rutile/titanium,
iron oxide,
copper,
a lot of magnesium in the formula,
just something to reduce the stark harshness of cobalt blue.

Of course, the best blue glazes have no cobalt in them.
Rutile blue glazes and copper blue glazes have a depth
and complexity far more interesting than cobalt blue if you
are firing in reduction.

On a related note, here's what I've used for more than 20
years for blue overglaze painting. Notice that it is only
20% cobalt:

Blue Pigment
Cobalt carbonate 20
Tin oxide 20
Manganese oxide 10
Talc 10
Red clay (Redart) 15
Kaolin 20
Red iron oxide 5
from Michael Cardew, "Pioneer Pottery"









----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 8:26 AM
Subject: blue secret


> well, i must be candid.
> i have made a small fortune selling blue pots.
> oatmeal, blue, orange, tan, brown.
>
> it is my standard.
>
> the secret is:
>
> a small amount of chrome whenever you make
> a cone 10 blue.
> make sure the blue bleeds through the tan..makes it
> very subtle. as it should be.
>
> it becomes a soft teal.
> or...aqua.
>
> i can live with that..very well.
> in fact, i love it.

____________________________________________________________________________
__
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org

You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/

Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

David Hendley on mon 25 mar 02


My "secret" for blue glazes is simply that they have
to have something, anything, in them in addition to cobalt.
It could be chrome, but it could also be
rutile/titanium,
iron oxide,
copper,
a lot of magnesium in the formula,
just something to reduce the stark harshness of cobalt blue.

Of course, the best blue glazes have no cobalt in them.
Rutile blue glazes and copper blue glazes have a depth
and complexity far more interesting than cobalt blue if you
are firing in reduction.

On a related note, here's what I've used for more than 20
years for blue overglaze painting. Notice that it is only
20% cobalt:

Blue Pigment
Cobalt carbonate 20
Tin oxide 20
Manganese oxide 10
Talc 10
Red clay (Redart) 15
Kaolin 20
Red iron oxide 5
from Michael Cardew, "Pioneer Pottery"









----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 8:26 AM
Subject: blue secret


> well, i must be candid.
> i have made a small fortune selling blue pots.
> oatmeal, blue, orange, tan, brown.
>
> it is my standard.
>
> the secret is:
>
> a small amount of chrome whenever you make
> a cone 10 blue.
> make sure the blue bleeds through the tan..makes it
> very subtle. as it should be.
>
> it becomes a soft teal.
> or...aqua.
>
> i can live with that..very well.
> in fact, i love it.

Michele Williams on mon 25 mar 02


David,

I hafta ask. Is this something I can add to any base glaze? Would I have
to alter it in any way for certain types of glazes?

Michele Williams
> On a related note, here's what I've used for more than 20
> years for blue overglaze painting. Notice that it is only
> 20% cobalt:
>
> Blue Pigment
> Cobalt carbonate 20
> Tin oxide 20
> Manganese oxide 10
> Talc 10
> Red clay (Redart) 15
> Kaolin 20
> Red iron oxide 5
> from Michael Cardew, "Pioneer Pottery"
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "mel jacobson"
> To:
> Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2002 8:26 AM
> Subject: blue secret
>
>
> > well, i must be candid.
> > i have made a small fortune selling blue pots.
> > oatmeal, blue, orange, tan, brown.
> >
> > it is my standard.
> >
> > the secret is:
> >
> > a small amount of chrome whenever you make
> > a cone 10 blue.
> > make sure the blue bleeds through the tan..makes it
> > very subtle. as it should be.
> >
> > it becomes a soft teal.
> > or...aqua.
> >
> > i can live with that..very well.
> > in fact, i love it.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

Ned Ludd on tue 26 mar 02


Wanda Holmes wrote:

> I would add that if you use cobalt alone, use very small amounts. In
> Ron & John's zinc semi-matte for example, .5% is beautiful, 1.5% is good
> for some of my tile applications, and 3% is harsh, ugly, over the top.
> wanda

I can think of an exception: Tom Coleman's Royal Cobalt (cone ten
reduction) with 5, yes five! percent cobalt carbonate. Its a beauty
whose strength is offset by its depth.


best

Ned

David Hendley on tue 26 mar 02


This is an "overglaze". You make up a small batch of a
few hundred grams and use it to paint designs over a
glazed surface, a la majolica.
I've only used it at cone 10, but it would probably be OK
at lower temperatures.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com



----- Original Message -----
From: "Michele Williams"
To:
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 9:58 PM
Subject: Re: blue secret


> David,
>
> I hafta ask. Is this something I can add to any base glaze? Would I have
> to alter it in any way for certain types of glazes?
>
> Michele Williams
> > On a related note, here's what I've used for more than 20
> > years for blue overglaze painting. Notice that it is only
> > 20% cobalt:
> >
> > Blue Pigment
> > Cobalt carbonate 20
> > Tin oxide 20
> > Manganese oxide 10
> > Talc 10
> > Red clay (Redart) 15
> > Kaolin 20
> > Red iron oxide 5
> > from Michael Cardew, "Pioneer Pottery"