Hendrix, Taylor J. on tue 4 may 04
Howdy y'all:
I have been studying various engobe recipes with an eye to developing
some for my work. I have just tried a few from Rhodes (I think) and now
have some questions while the pieces dry to leather hard for the second
phase of testing.
In all the Rhodes engobe recipes and in what I think are most of the
Chappell recipes I find borax. Now I know that borax is a flux source
and is soluble and is a material with which to be careful. What I am
not sure about is why the apparent need for it in engobe recipes for all
the stages of pots--wet, leather, dry, bisque. I did some archive work
and found where Vince mentioned this very thing and his take was that
borax is needed to keep the engobe attached in the early stages of
firing. This makes some sense to me as borax is an active flux and
tends to soften over a range of temps, no? I'm curious why Vince said
that a boron containing frit would not work as a sub. Having no borax,
I did sub 3134 for the borax in my tests, figuring if it didn't do what
the borax did it would at least flux the engobe in some way. Is the
borax added to improve the engobe's hardness in the dry/prefired stage
too?
Rhodes also uses talc in all his recipes as well. What up wi dat? I
already have neph. sy. in the mix, so why the addition of a small amount
of talc? Just another flux addition? Are engobes containing multiple
fluxes, like glazes, better than engobes that rely on only one or two
fluxes?
Once I see some results from this I will let you all know exactly what
was in my engobes. (forgot my notebook on the workbench, grr.)
BTW, calcined EPK is DUSTY, man, dusty. Me no like spoonin' that stuff
out into the weighing pan.
Taylor
Waco, Texas, USA
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Taylor_Hendrix/tjpots.htm
Lois Ruben Aronow on wed 5 may 04
I also believe very strongly that one should acknowledge their sources, if
for nothing else other than that returns to you karmic - ly. But I also
believe that many people who do copy or imitate the work of others sometimes
don't know they're doing it. You could ask George Harrison ("My Sweet
Lord") about that if he were still with us. Sometimes something just gets
tangled so deeply in your brain.
I also believe that many of the imitators are beginners, or potters I have
been outspoken about this is in the past, and it is one of my biggest
problems with workshops. People come out making someone else's pots, saying
"Look what I did!" when all they really did way learn to copy someone else's
work. I blame the instructors too - why are you teaching someone else to
make your wok, rather than teaching them techniques, thoughts, and how to be
inspired? Now everyone's gonna jump on me, saying "They're supposed to take
it and move forward with it", but let's be honest. A good many never move
forward to develop their own voice. There is so much work out there right
now that you can identify by who's workshop they took. I can't count the
number of Steven Hill imitators, for example. It is unfortunate that so few
people take their new knowledge and turn it into their own work. The
vicious circle continues when jurors and gallery owners allow this stuff
into shows.
I am often asked about my textured glazes, and it has taken me years and
dozens of kiln shelves to get to the point I'm at now (I'm still far from
where I want to be....) I am always happy to give out tips, but there are a
couple of hard-earned secrets I don't share. Not to be territorial, but
because a teacher asked me "how do you THINK it's done?" and forced me to
learn by experience. Frustrating, yes. Rewarding? YES!! There is no
better teacher than mistakes and experience.
* * * * * * *
Lois Ruben Aronow
Modern Porcelain & Tableware-Updated for Spring 2004!
www.loisaronow.com
David Hendley on wed 5 may 04
Howdy Taylor,
Besides adding flux, borax aids in "physically" keeping the engobe
on the pot. Before firing.
Since it is water soluble, it migrates to the surface and dries in
a hard coating which, when totally dry is tougher than the powered
surface of only insoluble materials.
I don't know why Rhodes liked to add talc to his engobe recipes.
It is generally better to have more fluxes rather than fewer, but
in engobes it doesn't seem too important to me.
Don't be spoonin' no EPK without wearing a respirator.
David Hendley
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com
In all the Rhodes engobe recipes and in what I think are most of the
Chappell recipes I find borax. Now I know that borax is a flux source
and is soluble and is a material with which to be careful. What I am
not sure about is why the apparent need for it in engobe recipes for all
the stages of pots--wet, leather, dry, bisque. I did some archive work
and found where Vince mentioned this very thing and his take was that
borax is needed to keep the engobe attached in the early stages of
firing. This makes some sense to me as borax is an active flux and
tends to soften over a range of temps, no? I'm curious why Vince said
that a boron containing frit would not work as a sub. Having no borax,
I did sub 3134 for the borax in my tests, figuring if it didn't do what
the borax did it would at least flux the engobe in some way. Is the
borax added to improve the engobe's hardness in the dry/prefired stage
too?
Rhodes also uses talc in all his recipes as well. What up wi dat? I
already have neph. sy. in the mix, so why the addition of a small amount
of talc? Just another flux addition? Are engobes containing multiple
fluxes, like glazes, better than engobes that rely on only one or two
fluxes?
Once I see some results from this I will let you all know exactly what
was in my engobes. (forgot my notebook on the workbench, grr.)
BTW, calcined EPK is DUSTY, man, dusty. Me no like spoonin' that stuff
out into the weighing pan.
Taylor
Waco, Texas, USA
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Taylor_Hendrix/tjpots.htm
Ivor and Olive Lewis on thu 6 may 04
Dear Taylor Hendrix,
I think you need to go back to first principles to understand why
certain minerals or compounds are included in an Engobe.
But to save you the research on Borax. Yes, it is water soluble. But
it melts at about 850=BAC and so will act as a "glue" between the other
materials and the clay underneath. Boron frits which are high in
sodium and low in Alumina will substitute.
Why Talc. Helps with Opacity would be my guess. Also give a body a
long firing range (So says D Rhodes)
Big problem with the term "Flux" is to understand its alternative
meanings and select the one which most fits your own philosophy or the
process you are using. In the case of Engobes all that is needed is a
process to secure the coating to the bisque clay. The philosophy is to
hide the body colour of that clay
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
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