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shino first, or be cursed

updated sun 5 sep 04

 

Joe Coniglio on mon 9 jun 03


MALCOLMS SHINO---The Legend Continues

New to Malcolms, using reliable mix at CAC
Cone 10 Gas
Did the archive search got out of that all I could.

In one kiln load I got 3 totally different results with the same buff clay,
fortunately I got one I was looking for; thank god if I were a religious man.

1) Pinholing?

2) Preferential Reduction spot to place in kiln --is it necessary?

3) Crawling

4) Crazing if applied too thick??? Can I thin it with tap water????

Dave Finkelnburg on mon 9 jun 03


Joe,
You have begun the Dance of Shino, also known as the Dance of
Frustration! Be of good cheer! Your results are not unusual. :-)
Pinholing is a common feature with a high alumina glaze, because the
glaze is exceptionally viscous. The Shino glaze family in general has 4 to
5 times as much alumina as most cone 10 glazes! Did you allow enough time
for the glazed ware to dry well so you got a good soda scum on the surface?
This helps heal pinholes during the firing. Slower firing when the glaze is
melted also helps heal the pinholes.
You don't say what effect you seek with this glaze, so it's hard to say
where to put it in the kiln. The fired results with MD Shinos are VERY
dependent on degree and consistency of reduction, of course.
I suggest you be VERY meticulous about getting your ware dedusted before
you glaze it. Malcolm Davis washes all of his bisque ware in relatively
clean water and allows the ware to dry before glazing it. This step is to
remove dust that causes crawling with the high clay Shino glazes he uses.
It helps. He does use porcelain, which is even worse than stoneware for
crawling.
The MD Shinos are very high in clay, so you can thin them quite a bit
with water if you want to apply a thinner glaze coat.
Good glazing!
Dave Finkelnburg in Idaho

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Coniglio"
> New to Malcolms, using reliable mix at CAC
> Cone 10 Gas
> Did the archive search got out of that all I could.
> In one kiln load I got 3 totally different results with the same buff
clay,
> fortunately I got one I was looking for; thank god if I were a religious
man.
> 1) Pinholing?
> 2) Preferential Reduction spot to place in kiln --is it necessary?
> 3) Crawling
> 4) Crazing if applied too thick??? Can I thin it with tap water????

Tony Ferguson on mon 9 jun 03


Joe,

This shino is a love hate relationship. Sometimes it turns out killer and
other times it sucks--at least in the wood kiln where variability is high.
I use it because of the few killers I will get using this glaze--jet
iridescent black and gold and red--more intense than in any gas kiln because
of the woodfire atmosphere. It likes direct flame impingment.

Thank you.

Tony Ferguson
On Lake Superior, where the sky meets the Lake

Stoneware, Porcelain, Raku and more
by Coleman, Ferguson, Winchester...
www.aquariusartgallery.com
218-727-6339
315 N. Lake Ave
Apt 312
Duluth, MN 55806


----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Coniglio"
To:
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 1:10 PM
Subject: Shino First, or Be Cursed


> MALCOLMS SHINO---The Legend Continues
>
> New to Malcolms, using reliable mix at CAC
> Cone 10 Gas
> Did the archive search got out of that all I could.
>
> In one kiln load I got 3 totally different results with the same buff
clay,
> fortunately I got one I was looking for; thank god if I were a religious
man.
>
> 1) Pinholing?
>
> 2) Preferential Reduction spot to place in kiln --is it necessary?
>
> 3) Crawling
>
> 4) Crazing if applied too thick??? Can I thin it with tap water????
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
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>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>

Sue Leabu on tue 10 jun 03


On Mon, 9 Jun 2003 14:10:18 -0400, Joe Coniglio
wrote:

>
>3) Crawling
>
>4) Crazing if applied too thick??? Can I thin it with tap water????
>

In the 6 months I've been experimenting with MD Shinos, I have noticed that
thickness of application affects crawling. Thinning the glaze slop to the
consistency of skim milk (ish) has eliminated this. Dust free bisque also
helps with crawling and the pin holes. Placement in the kiln is a factor.
My best results always come from the top half of the kiln I'm using; I'm
sure this varies kiln to kiln. How the pots are packed - how close
together - also seems to have an effect. Too tight seems to restrict the
carbon trapping, so I've been leaving more space between than you normally
would. Crazing - don't know if there is a solution for this or not. I
haven't tried to get rid of it because I rather like it. Good luck.

Sue in Kalamazoo, MI

Joe Coniglio on tue 10 jun 03


Dave writes:
>> You don't say what effect you seek with this glaze, so it's hard to say where to put it in the kiln.

Ahhh. A variant gradient between that golden red brown of wood baked chicken
and the opalpearlescent sheen going from that red brown to that red green in
Malcolms Shino.---In one coat, no pinning, and very little crawling that I
can live with more than pinning that makes me insane!!

Glad to know I can thin the glaze and know I can wash and dry the bisqueware.

Tony writes:
>>iridescent black and gold and red--more intense than in any gas kiln because of the woodfire atmosphere.

I'm glad you mention this. I had to blow torch some wax resist I spilled on a
bottle, and created a hot glowing spot on the bottle that glowed red and left
a black carbon deposit from the butane/propane I could not sand off--- BEFORE
I dipped it in the MD shino. "Crawl baby crawl candidate I said"...and
remarkably? When it come out of the cone 10 reductin I got the nicest ruby/
pink/red mark surrounded by the normal MD shino palate for all my
transgression!!

Talk of chicken is making me hungry. I'm gone. JoeC

Liz Willoughby on wed 11 jun 03


Hello Joe C,
Just wanted to add a couple of things to what has already been said.
And perhaps you already know these things. If you paint on liquid
water based wax on top of the shino, after it has been dipped or
sprayed, you will have an orange line, sometimes with carbon around
that line. If your glaze is thinner, your pot will be more orange or
deeper in color. If the glaze is too thin, it will tend to feel
rough. It is very hard to gauge the thickness of the glaze, because
of the soda ash in it, shino always seems to be thick. You can
always take a needle tool after glazing to see the depth of the glaze.

Of course too, the more iron in your stoneware, the deeper the color
of the finished glaze.

It sounds like you really are not that interested in the carbon
trapping or the black dots that one gets, or tries to get with
Malcolm's shino, but rather the lustrous results that some shinos do
give, especially on stoneware. Do you have Studio Potter, Vol. 21
#1? Good article in there on shinos by Jim Robinson.
Also a more recent Studio Potter, Vol 30 #2, has articles in it by
various potters, some with recipes, curated by Malcolm.

It just seems to me that if you are having trouble with this glaze,
pinholing, and crawling, perhaps you should do some more glaze tests.

There are sweet spots for shino, definitely. It varies with each
kiln, mine are the top, and the bottom, by the burner ports. But I
have fired a load of shino and had great carbon trapping right in the
middle. Well, that is shino, it will surprise you over and over, and
nothing is ever written in stone. Once smitten with it, the search
for that perfect pot is endless. Sometimes I think it is the
surprises that come out of the kiln with shino that makes it so
addictive.

Early reduction, c/012, and heavy reduction at first, lightening up a
bit, then good reduction to cone 10 bending 2 0'clock, then off. In
my kiln (Bailey) that means a good cone 11 the back half. I do not
crash cool.

That sounds like a beautiful pot that you blow torched the wax off.
It could be too, that not all the wax was taken away, some probably
went into the clay, absorbed less shino, with less salts rising to
the surface.

Let us know how your shino is coming along. Always like reading about it.
Meticky Liz

>Joe C says:
>
>Ahhh. A variant gradient between that golden red brown of wood baked chicken
>and the opalpearlescent sheen going from that red brown to that red green in
>Malcolms Shino.---In one coat, no pinning, and very little crawling that I
>can live with more than pinning that makes me insane!!
>
>Glad to know I can thin the glaze and know I can wash and dry the bisqueware.
>
>I'm glad you mention this. I had to blow torch some wax resist I spilled on a
>bottle, and created a hot glowing spot on the bottle that glowed red and left
>a black carbon deposit from the butane/propane I could not sand off--- BEFORE
>I dipped it in the MD shino. "Crawl baby crawl candidate I said"...and
>remarkably? When it come out of the cone 10 reductin I got the nicest ruby/
>pink/red mark surrounded by the normal MD shino palate for all my
>transgression!!

--
Liz Willoughby
RR #1
2903 Shelter Valley Rd.
Grafton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 2G0
905-349-3130

lizwill@phc.igs.net

Joe Coniglio on wed 11 jun 03


Crazing--I have yet to prove that quick cooling and drafts hurt the surface
before the kiln is pretty much back down to a few hundred degrees or the
luxury of room temp. Unfortunately I'm not the master of my destiny in this
department. Can't always get good shelf placement either.

Well that's all going to change...yes...siree..!! :-)

Pam on sat 4 sep 04


Thanks for the info about the Ferguson Shino, that it is indeed from Ken F,
or that at least he used this if not created it ;-)

So, I have my test batch mixed, and the bisque with the test pieces is
cooling. My next quest, is a black glossy glaze that plays well with shinos,
I know I have seen one mentioned somewhere (sign that I read too much,
cannot now locate which publication it was in). I think it was called Magic
Black? Anyone able to point me in the right direction?


Pam
pam@cresswells.com