Stephen on tue 2 dec 03
I liked the results i got in a wood firing at ^12. I am not really that
concerned about duplicating Shigaraki clay. As I said, It is greyer, really
more subtle. I tried it in oxidatin at ^6. It is not as fluxed. For
sculpture at this temp. it is fine, but it would not be as suitable for
functional ware, as it has some glaze popping off. The pieces I threw for
^12 turned out great and are strong and beautifully textured.One difference
is tha there is not as much variation in texture. The grind I have is not
quite as coarse as Shigaraki. I have about six bags of it. that should last
for quite a while.
Stephen
Earl Krueger on wed 3 dec 03
On Wednesday, Dec 3, 2003, at 14:12 US/Pacific, Lee Love wrote:
> I've never seen ground oyster shell. I can't imagine someone
> selling it to you as chicken grit. All the bags I saw when I worked
> at UPS
> were labeled "Chicken Grit." You'd be able to tell the difference
> simply
> by looking at it.
Lee,
After 12 years of doing chores on the farm in Iowa with an average of
250 chickens my Red Ryder wagon and I carted a fair number of bags of
both grit and oyster shells as well as buckets of water and cracked
corn. The grit and shells were quite a bit different. The grit was
more rounded, between the size of a black peppercorn and a sesame seed
with sharp edges and felt gritty. The oyster shells were more flat
than round, had rounded edges, contained a fair amount of fines and
felt softer.
Since that was a long time ago, before the world became ecologically
conscious, I wonder if maybe they don't use them anymore. Must have
something else though to provide the calcium the hens need.
Earl...
Bothell, WA, USA
Lee Love on wed 3 dec 03
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen"
> I liked the results i got in a wood firing at ^12. I am not really that
> concerned about duplicating Shigaraki clay.
I am interested in duplicating Shigaraki clay. :^) If I ever move back
to minnestoa, I want to continue the work I am doing here.
Milling a portion might help give some variation in size. Maybe marble
or pure quartz would give whiter results. I suppose a hammermill would be
useful.
I've used Lake Superior taconite sand and gravel in white stoneware and
got a sort of "Dalmatian effect."
--
Lee in Mashiko
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift." -- Albert Einstein
http://Mashiko.org
Web Log (click on recent date):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
Earl Krueger on wed 3 dec 03
On Wednesday, Dec 3, 2003, at 05:26 US/Pacific, Lee Love wrote:
> Maybe marble or pure quartz would give whiter results.
You know Lee, that these are two totally different minerals.
Marble is just a more compressed form of Limestone and
I don't think you would want to put that in a clay body.
Also, make sure that you don't buy ground up oyster shells
thinking it is chicken grit. They serve two different purposes
for the chicken. Grit is for grinding in the craw and oyster
shells are for the calcium carbonate to make the egg shells.
And when it comes to chicken grit I think you will find that it
varies considerably around the world. Different places,
different rocks, different chicken grit. Before using chicken
grit I would apply the acid test to it. If it bubbles its calcium
carbonate and I wouldn't use it in clay.
Earl...
Bothell, WA, USA
whose mother raised 200-300 chickens every year in order
to sell the eggs for 25 cents per dozen so that she could
buy those things at the grocery store that you can't raise
on a farm, like aluminum foil.
Tony Ferguson on wed 3 dec 03
I use chicken grit from a local feed supply house. It creates black specks
and iridescent pop outs. Nice stuff.
Thank you.
Tony Ferguson
On Lake Superior, where the sky meets the Lake
Custom & Manufactured Kiln Design
Stoneware, Porcelain, Raku and more
by Coleman, Ferguson, Winchester...
http://www.aquariusartgallery.com
218-727-6339
315 N. Lake Ave
Apt 312
Duluth, MN 55806
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Martino"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 3:56 PM
Subject: Re: Chicken grit
> Just saw this thread and thought I'd add my 2c.
>
> I add tooth to my karatsu clay by sieving decayed feldspar 'sand' out of
> one of the riverbeds by Arita dam. The whole mountain is one big chunk of
> feldspar. Every creekbed around there is just about entirely composed of
> this stuff. I haven't tried, but I would guess that the karatsu body
doesn't
> flash like the shigaraki.
>
> I don't suppose there is a similar context somewhere near the originator
of
> this message? I know a guy in Arizona who uses decomposed granite sieved
> from the arroyo, but he can't get too big because the granite melts and
> leaves holes in the pots. Smaller size makes nice little colorful bursting
> glassy nodules though. The feldspar is great because it doesn't melt down,
> so big chunks are ok too, just rounds over in firing and adds nice soft
> texture.
>
> Sorry if this is too obvious a suggestion. I did have the thought that if
> there was a similar context over there then there would be no need in the
> first place for this discussion.
>
> Mike
>
> in Taku, Japan
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Lee Love
> Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 10:26 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Re: Chicken grit
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephen"
>
>
> > I liked the results i got in a wood firing at ^12. I am not really that
> > concerned about duplicating Shigaraki clay.
>
> I am interested in duplicating Shigaraki clay. :^) If I ever move back
> to minnestoa, I want to continue the work I am doing here.
>
> Milling a portion might help give some variation in size. Maybe
marble
> or pure quartz would give whiter results. I suppose a hammermill would
be
> useful.
>
> I've used Lake Superior taconite sand and gravel in white stoneware
and
> got a sort of "Dalmatian effect."
>
> --
> Lee in Mashiko
>
> "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
> servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has
> forgotten the gift." -- Albert Einstein
>
> http://Mashiko.org
> Web Log (click on recent date):
> http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> 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.
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.
>
Lee Love on thu 4 dec 03
----- Original Message -----
From: "Earl Krueger"
> corn. The grit and shells were quite a bit different. The grit was
> more rounded, between the size of a black peppercorn and a sesame seed
> with sharp edges and felt gritty.
This is what I remember from filling up the buckets in the winter in
Michigan when I washed UPS delievery trucks and semis. The grit we used
was a light grey color.
> conscious, I wonder if maybe they don't use them anymore. Must have
> something else though to provide the calcium the hens need.
We used to keep bannie hens when I was a kid. My father would get
a dozen free chicks when he bought a sack of feed. He didn't know much
about raising them though.
A friend of mine who raised organic chickens said that when the
Hmong folks came to Wisconsin to buy chickens from him, they would always
pass up the white ones. He explained to me that "factory" chickens always
stay white. But chickens that are allowed to scratch in the dirt pick up
trace minerals and get color with age. The Hmong folk said that the
colored chickens had a better flavor.
The last time I talked to him, he was working out a deal with
folks in France to raise organic French chickens. Don't know how that
ever turned out.
--
Lee in Mashiko
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift." -- Albert Einstein
http://Mashiko.org
Web Log (click on recent date):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
Mike Martino on thu 4 dec 03
Just saw this thread and thought I'd add my 2c.
I add tooth to my karatsu clay by sieving decayed feldspar 'sand' out of
one of the riverbeds by Arita dam. The whole mountain is one big chunk of
feldspar. Every creekbed around there is just about entirely composed of
this stuff. I haven't tried, but I would guess that the karatsu body doesn't
flash like the shigaraki.
I don't suppose there is a similar context somewhere near the originator of
this message? I know a guy in Arizona who uses decomposed granite sieved
from the arroyo, but he can't get too big because the granite melts and
leaves holes in the pots. Smaller size makes nice little colorful bursting
glassy nodules though. The feldspar is great because it doesn't melt down,
so big chunks are ok too, just rounds over in firing and adds nice soft
texture.
Sorry if this is too obvious a suggestion. I did have the thought that if
there was a similar context over there then there would be no need in the
first place for this discussion.
Mike
in Taku, Japan
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of Lee Love
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 10:26 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Chicken grit
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen"
> I liked the results i got in a wood firing at ^12. I am not really that
> concerned about duplicating Shigaraki clay.
I am interested in duplicating Shigaraki clay. :^) If I ever move back
to minnestoa, I want to continue the work I am doing here.
Milling a portion might help give some variation in size. Maybe marble
or pure quartz would give whiter results. I suppose a hammermill would be
useful.
I've used Lake Superior taconite sand and gravel in white stoneware and
got a sort of "Dalmatian effect."
--
Lee in Mashiko
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift." -- Albert Einstein
http://Mashiko.org
Web Log (click on recent date):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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.
Lee Love on thu 4 dec 03
----- Original Message -----
From: "Earl Krueger"
>
> You know Lee, that these are two totally different minerals.
> Marble is just a more compressed form of Limestone and
> I don't think you would want to put that in a clay body.
So are shigaraki clay and lake superior gravel :^) I tend not to
be anal retentive where testing and experimenting is concerned. If you
only test the knows you never discover anything.
Marble is compressed limestone and can be made up of a large
percentage of dolomite.
You know, these chunks in the clay stay pretty isolated and melt out
locally in the firing. In the shigaraki clay, if you hold a pot up to the
light, especially on a trimmed piece, you can sometimes see thin spots,
where the feldspathic chunks melt out and create little clear windows.
You have to make allowances for these, espeically is smaller ware. At
my teacher's workshop, we sometimes tested these peices to make sure they
would hold water.
Actually, something like marble might melt better at the lower
cone 6 temps the previous poster was speaking about. It is worth testing.
> Also, make sure that you don't buy ground up oyster shells
> thinking it is chicken grit.
I've never seen ground oyster shell. I can't imagine someone
selling it to you as chicken grit. All the bags I saw when I worked at UPS
were labeled "Chicken Grit." You'd be able to tell the difference simply
by looking at it.
The ground oyster shell could have different uses though, maybe
as flashing material to give color warmth to feet. It could be test it
by putting some inside the foot ring or by including it in wadding material.
But some of the flashing comes from soluables like residual sea water & that
might be lost in the processing.
Last firing, I tested ricehulls from the fields near my house inside
footrings for flashing. Have tried the ash from ricehusk before. The
ash is mostly silica and is great to put under platters instead of silica
sand to prevent cracking by allowing the piece to move on the kiln shelf
during firing. The hulls made some red color, only if the pile under the
ring was thick enough. I also tested a new straw rope on the pots. It
was very refractory: leaving behind a short of angel hair fiber in the
pots I put it in and good red color. The previous straw rope I tried
turned completely into ash and was difficult to keep on the outside of pots.
This new stuff, that is made of flatter fibers has enough structure after
firing that it should stay on to pots it is coiled around.
I know some people wrap straw rope around pots and then wrap the
pots in ceramic fiber, to hold the straw in place. It is similar to a
sagger technique and can be done in a gas kiln.
Next firing, I'll test some of the new rope inside the foot rings
for red color.
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
http://Mashiko.org
Web Log (click on recent date):
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