mel jacobson on fri 2 jan 04
i am of the mind that delivery of salt and soda into
the kiln is not nearly as critical as
`WHAT CLAY BODY ARE YOU USING`
gail nichols has been very clear on this subject.
as i have said in the past...gail makes her pots from
kiln wash. the amount of salt soda on those pots
in micro thin. she does not use a great deal of
material.
and, she makes cakes of salt and chemicals that
she throws in the kiln.
at the farm we still just throw the salt in the fire ports
from a campbell's soup can (tomato) about 6 cans.
and, it works great.
we have sprayed, watered, thrown, dumped...and
the best we have found is...the tomato soup can.
but, without question, how the salt and soda affects certain
clay bodies MATTERS A GREAT DEAL.
i will always listen to gail...she is a A+, 100 percent
smartypants. her research cannot be faulted. remember, her
salt soda experiments were her ph.d. paper. chemistry.
mel
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
Bruce Girrell on fri 2 jan 04
> gail nichols has been very clear on this subject.
> as i have said in the past...gail makes her pots from
> kiln wash. the amount of salt soda on those pots
> in micro thin.
The amazing thing, though, is that when you look at her pots up close, the
glaze looks like frosting on a cake. When you see the glaze in cross-section
it is hard to believe there is so little there.
iandol on sat 3 jan 04
Mel seems to say it all,
He has been fortunate to read Gail Nichol's Thesis, to discuss science =
and technology with her. What is apparent when you see her work is that =
the surfaces she produces on clay are highly variable in material =
content, even on a single piece.
Yes, the composition of the clay is a determinant which strongly =
influences the nature of the surfaces which can be obtained.
However, there seems to be no valid exposition of the Chemistry for =
reactions which happen when either Sodium Carbonate or Sodium =
Bicarbonate ( or even Viet Sin) are injected into a kiln.
I have the lid of a pot which was salt glaze almost twenty years ago. =
Eyeball examination did not reveal any crazing. But this sample now =
forms crystalline excrescences along the lines of the cracks even though =
it is a dry place and the atmosphere generally has a low humidity. Even =
when the surface is wiped clean of these crystals they reappear. I have =
my own thoughts on the matter.
Whatever is claimed as chemistries for reactions in a kiln, be they =
between atmosphere and injected chemicals or chemicals and clay, such =
hypotheses should always be scrutinised and tested using alternative =
resources. The strength of scientific hypotheses depends upon our =
inability to refute them, not on our ability to confirm. I trust Mel has =
applied this test.
And Yes. Mel gets my vote for MAYOR.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
iandol on sat 3 jan 04
Mels remark <<..gail makes her pots from kiln wash...>>
Interesting!! Mel. Would you care to elaborate and comment.
Regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Diana Pancioli on sat 3 jan 04
Yep, I agree with Mel.
The body is really important.
At Pewabic in the 70's, under Jim Powell,
(bless him, he died way too young)
we used a body with SAND in it for the salt fires,
instead of grog.
The sand seemed to grab the salt and made
a more "peel" texture, than without it.
For what it's worth--we made newspaper "tortillas"
with rock salt in them (about the size of a
bean burrito from Taco Bell), then wet the
tortilla in water and threw it in the salt port.
Nice thing about the tortillas was that
you could pitch them as far into the fire box
as you wanted (with a little practice.)
Diana
Lee Love on sun 4 jan 04
----- Original Message -----
From: "iandol"
>always be scrutinised and tested using alternative resources. The strength
of >scientific hypotheses depends upon our inability to refute them, not on
our >ability to confirm.
The proof is in the puddin', as they used to say.
I recall an article a while back in Scientific American about the
related research of Newton and Goethe on the wavelengths of light produced
by a prism. The article said that while Newton's observations agreed with
his hypotheses, Goethe's were based more closely upon his observations.
It turns out that the poet Goethe's research is confirmed by modern
research, while Newton's has been proven false.
A quote:
"Goethe as an artist knew that intuition was terribly important for
organizing the data that we accumulate through sensory perception. We need a
balance between the analytical way of knowing and the intuitive way of
knowing, both of which can be cultivated systematically. In our educational
system today, we focus on the analytical, and we just leave the intuitive
alone. In fact we tend to deny or ignore it. Just as we've been kicking shit
out of Nature for 400 years, we've been doing the same to that part of our
own nature that we call subjectivity or intuition."
Read more here: http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge15.html
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
http://Mashiko.us
Web Log (click on recent date):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
Paul Herman on sun 4 jan 04
Hello Diana, and all Salters,
I have to agree, the clay is all important.
White clays (like Porcelain) don't produce much color under Salt glaze.
And dark Stonewares get a kind of chocolate syrup look, nice if you like
chocolate, but it gets old. Sand is great, it makes little clear spots
in the glaze, and helps the orange peel develop.
Ms Nichols uses a high alumina clay body, and some of the frostiness of
her glaze comes from fine crazing. My friend Joe has a little cup of
hers, with an orange spot on it. I think she also uses some kind of
calcium compound in her salt mixture.
Our salting technique is to put the salt on a long piece of 2"X2" angle
iron, then dump it on top of a full grate of wood.
Good firings,
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
423-725 Scott Road
Doyle, California 96109 US
potter@psln.com
----------
>From: Diana Pancioli
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>Subject: Salt delivery
>Date: Sat, Jan 3, 2004, 10:42 AM
>
> Yep, I agree with Mel.
> The body is really important.
>
> At Pewabic in the 70's, under Jim Powell,
> (bless him, he died way too young)
> we used a body with SAND in it for the salt fires,
> instead of grog.
>
> The sand seemed to grab the salt and made
> a more "peel" texture, than without it.
>
> For what it's worth--we made newspaper "tortillas"
> with rock salt in them (about the size of a
> bean burrito from Taco Bell), then wet the
> tortilla in water and threw it in the salt port.
>
> Nice thing about the tortillas was that
> you could pitch them as far into the fire box
> as you wanted (with a little practice.)
>
> Diana
>
Stephen on tue 6 jan 04
I connected a pipe with a funnel feed to a shop vac exaust and delivered my
salt mix of baking soda, whiting, and borax in my latest wood firing. I had
to watch where I pointed it because of the exsessive build up. I use the
salt over glazes more for effect, and flashing.I was pleased with the
results. There was some running but it was worth it.
By the way, Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy has its foundations in Goethean
science.
Stephen
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