Lili Krakowski on tue 13 jul 04
=20
Over the past few years "stuff" has been happening. Far too much of =
it. In my personal life, in my Clayart life. After as much thought =
as I can give it, I made several decisions about clay.
I no longer will make things to sell, just things I yearn to make, and =
what is leftover will be sold-D.v.
Obaasanogama is coming down, bless her heart, and will be replaced by a =
very small kiln, probably like Andrew Holden's small kiln (in his book) =
although it will be made out of all that brick. I should say that =
Obaasanogama has stood up for a long time, admirably well, and I =
attribute that to my having cloaked her first in redbrick and then with =
diverse concrete insulating mixes I have made on the spur of the moment. =
I CANNOT speak from any width of experience but it appears to my narrow =
view that coating an outdoor kiln in a shell of some material other than =
the refractories does protect her from the elements. I have been =
wondering for the past few days if those despised and rejected coke kiln =
bricks might not make a very nice sturdy "cover" for an outdoor kiln.
But most important is that I am giving up on some projects I was going =
to work on "some day." I am over "some day." It is now or possibly =
never.
Ok. Project I; a totally underground fuel burning --wood?--kiln. =
Something built in an old underground tank area, or an old air-raid =
shelter (remember Gov Rockefeller and those things?), or a foundation =
started and not finished. A kiln underground, with only a bit of =
chimney coming out. I long have thought this a possibility for a =
remarkably safe kiln from the view point of fire risk.
Project II =20
When I was in school only Hetherington was available as information on =
reduction glazes. He pointed out that eensy teensy bits of copper and =
eensy teensy bits of iron produce the loveliest copper reduction and =
iron reduction glazes. In my very minimal reduction experience, very =
very minimal is it.
Now I do not mean to get anyone's PC Cross Cultural knickers in a =
twist. But I always have doubted that early Korean/Chinese/Japanese =
potters had the time and resources to stand around measuring stuff with =
gram scales. Ok.
Then I read this neat book on the Industrial Revolution which mentioned =
among other things that copper something or other was produced by =
putting bits of copper into old wine barrels-the acidity turned the =
copper into something or other. Swell,. I put some old bits of copper =
in a jar with some wine and also some vinegar-of course, dah'lings, you =
know me, a Mouton Rothschild and Balsamic - and lo and B.hold it has =
turned a lovely blue with sediment at the bottom. Fine. Then my =
brother brought me a brass ladle from one of his Asian trips-no ideas =
whether India, or Japan-no matter. It imparts a dreadful taste to wet =
foods. (Not flour or nuts and such like) I then realized that what I =
had long suspected might be true. Wet copper "gives off" something.
Namely the copper in some of those reduction glazes might have come =
simply from the corrosion of copper used in the making of the glaze. =
Ladles for pouring; brass or copper vats for storing ordipping.
As to iron ox. You should see my laundry! We have enough iron in the =
natural water here to turn my undies temmoku! Still. "They" might =
have used iron pots, vats, and so on. =20
I want to pass this on. I really would like some one else to just test =
rusty water and water stored in brass vessels-you get the eye-deer-and =
see what it does in an otherwise untinted reduction glaze. If my =
intuition is correct then some lovely reduction glazes--copper reds, =
celadons-- might have been the result of pure accident. An =
extraordinarily comforting thought.
Well, I was going to do it. Now the idea is out there. Please, =
someone.
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