mel jacobson on tue 12 oct 04
one of the best things going in clay is clayart.
but, if you read clayart and believe what you read,
then you will remember that glaze chemicals come from
the earth.
yes, believe it or not...axner does not make cobalt, he
sells cobalt.
earth chemicals are changing all the time.
each day a vein runs out. mining changes location.
deposits are being depleted, new ones are being
found.
they change, all the time.
if you use a glaze like `floating blue` as your source
of income...remember, it is a maverick. it can change
as your chemicals change. it will never stay the same.
one day you are happy, your customers are happy, the
next...everyone is pissed.
same for shino.
rutile is a maverick, same for other chemicals.
we sure have found that to be true when doing
the chinese studies. we are using six different irons.
they all make different color.
remember, spanish iron is the road to yellow.
ochre is a form of iron/yellow iron.
potters use almost 0 percent of chemicals used for industry.
we are the last line of users. when a big company wants the
rutile refined more...it gets refined more. many of our chemicals
are getting ground to dust. (clayart post last week, good information.)
some of it is actually fluffy.
(that is what sharlene says when she gains a bit of weight...she is
not heavy, just fluffy.)
potters have to be ready to adjust to new chemicals and the
availability of sources. i still have 20 lbs of old rutile. i am glad.
i bought 10 pounds of cobalt oxide in 1963, just used that last of
it a month ago. have had to start using carbonate. seems ok.
still violet. bought that in 1969. i have three cans of copper ox.
all are very different.
so, be prepared. and if you find a good chemical, buy it, store
it. it pays in the long run.
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
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