Joyce LEE on sat 2 oct 04
I am majorly under the influence of John Britt's "The
Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes." As with all such
material which arrives in my life at the Perfect Moment,
I feel a Basic Need to glom on to its contents in one fell
swoop.... I've been up all night (first time in years)
marveling at how well John's book speaks to me.... so many
wonderings answered in one volume about high-fire glazes.
I have several fine high-fire glaze books .. including
an old one which has encouraged me often, "Chinese
Stoneware Glazes" by Grebanier, last printing 1977..... but
right now Britt's book is The Book in my life! Thank you,
John. I suspect I'll need another copy soon..... one to be
kept in civilized condition for studying in-house and another
copy for the glaze room which, unlike yours I'm sure, is far
from pristine.
The timing is so poundingly Right for me because I'm finally
thinking something other than shino...... at least, occasionally.
The Mayor's beautiful new tests have diminished my obsessions
to mix and test and fire.. yet another shino recipe..... layering it
with reds and blues and greens..... whites, too..... poking sticks
in the kiln's peep holes (thank you, Dannon).....
lookinglookinglooking ... for what I don't even know. The
fascination there, of course, is that shino is magic for potters,
though not necessarily for customers who often see it as
"another brown" (not!). It helps me to welcome change since
my last few shinos left me puzzled but not adoring. (Two are
on Chris's pages under beverage containers. One on the
left is the mayor's with 1 and 1/2 times the soda ash.... carbon
trapped well on the raised carved sections ..... and the other
had extra neph syn which gave a somewhat shino look with
brown spots...... both were tests but still not exciting.)
I'll return to shino one day..... still haven't even begun Malcolm
Davis's many creative suggestions for shino.... but for now I'm
not lingering on the shinos in Britt's book (well, maybe Hank's
on page 88.... the book automatically falls open to 88 now.....
only had it a few days and already that happens.) Now it's
Arriba y Adelante to slips, ashes (Aerni's on three different clays....
wonderful!), and so many new glaze possibilities. Not a book
of simply recipes..... I have hundreds of those and am grateful
for them..... but glazing and firing at Cone 10 and beyond. Tons
of meaty details.
Did I say thank you, John? Thank you, John.
Joyce
In the Mojave Desert of California where it's noon, I've been
up all but two hours of the night, haven't even had my
tea nor stored properly the Farmers Market treasures I
found yesterday...... plants from the Desert Gardeners......
two bucks apiece accompanied by an incredible amount of
advice for each plant... they know I'm a less than novice
gardener but, as with claybuds, doesn't matter.... they
just want to help as well as share their love of fairy lilies,
violets, a gentler version of bamboo, and a bunch of other
plants with elusive names...... the westie loves these visits.....
sniffs everybody's ankles (just her height) to determine kinds
of animals who own them... then kisses each plant in the
short pots placed at ground-level..... most ooh and aah at
the "bleached Scottie" ...... sweet....
| |
|
