Ben Friesen on sun 24 oct 04
Hi all,
I'm writing again out of desperation. The Christmas season is hard upon =
me and I'm having some very aggravating troubles with my best selling =
glaze. I'll try to explain...
I use the Laguna B-mix 5 which I bisque to cone 06 and glaze fire to =
cone 6. The 2 glazes I use have been formulated by a pottery =
supplier--one is a gloss black and the other is a light blue, called =
Catalina Blue (they won't give out the recipe, understandably, so I =
can't tell you the components of the glaze). I dip my pots in the black =
for about 4 seconds or so and then, once dry, i do a quick dip in the =
cat. blue. The result is a lovely dark speckled blue with edges ringed =
in a glossy black.=20
The problem I've had off and on is that there will be areas, some small, =
some larger, where the blue looks to have sort of curled back, or simply =
disappeared and leaves behind a dull sort of black. It happens most =
often on my mugs... almost never on the bigger serving bowls. I've tried =
all sorts--firing cooler, firing hotter, soaking, etc. I always wipe the =
bisque before dipping in glaze, and let's see, what else??? I thinned =
out the blue until, in my last firing (taken out a few depressing =
minutes ago) it came out too black and just doesn't cut it.=20
What am I missing? Why does it work sometimes and other times not? Why =
the mugs? Would it make a difference to bisque to a 04 temp. or perhaps =
spray my glazes on?????=20
I've only been in the potting game now for about 2 years so I feel =
pretty green (or blue) at it all. I love it but it sure can be =
frusterating....... :) I'm still smiling though.=20
Thanks for any help.....=20
Ben Friesen
Stonepath Pottery
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Chris Schafale on mon 25 oct 04
I think what you are seeing is crawling, and I think the reason it appears
only on the mugs is that they are thinner and thus can absorb less glaze
than the bigger bowls. When they are saturated, the second layer of glaze
doesn't adhere as well and will crack as it dries or in the early stages of
firing, and then peel back from the black. My guess would be that bisquing
lower, rather than higher, might help, as it would increase the absorbency
of the bisque.
Chris
At 02:11 AM 10/25/2004, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I'm writing again out of desperation. The Christmas season is hard upon me
>and I'm having some very aggravating troubles with my best selling glaze.
>I'll try to explain...
>
>I use the Laguna B-mix 5 which I bisque to cone 06 and glaze fire to cone
>6. The 2 glazes I use have been formulated by a pottery supplier--one is a
>gloss black and the other is a light blue, called Catalina Blue (they
>won't give out the recipe, understandably, so I can't tell you the
>components of the glaze). I dip my pots in the black for about 4 seconds
>or so and then, once dry, i do a quick dip in the cat. blue. The result is
>a lovely dark speckled blue with edges ringed in a glossy black.
>
>The problem I've had off and on is that there will be areas, some small,
>some larger, where the blue looks to have sort of curled back, or simply
>disappeared and leaves behind a dull sort of black. It happens most often
>on my mugs... almost never on the bigger serving bowls. I've tried all
>sorts--firing cooler, firing hotter, soaking, etc. I always wipe the
>bisque before dipping in glaze, and let's see, what else??? I thinned out
>the blue until, in my last firing (taken out a few depressing minutes ago)
>it came out too black and just doesn't cut it.
>
>What am I missing? Why does it work sometimes and other times not? Why the
>mugs? Would it make a difference to bisque to a 04 temp. or perhaps spray
>my glazes on?????
>
>I've only been in the potting game now for about 2 years so I feel pretty
>green (or blue) at it all. I love it but it sure can be
>frusterating....... :) I'm still smiling though.
>
>Thanks for any help.....
>Ben Friesen
>Stonepath Pottery
>Abbotsford, BC, Canada
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, USA (near Raleigh)
www.lightonecandle.com
Galleries of Pottery Forms by Clayart Potters: www.potteryforms.org
Email: chris at lightonecandle dot com
Ron Roy on tue 26 oct 04
Hi Ben,
Some glazes have a propensity to crawl - especially when fired wet - make
sure the glaze is dry before firing.
Crawling happens during the beginning of a firing - as the glaze shrinks -
cracks form and sometimes the glaze peels back so far it does not flow back
over the gaps during the end of the firing. This happens with thicker
applications more than thin - and more on smooth clays than rough.
If the gaps are not too wide - soaking at the end of a firing will
sometimes let the glaze flow enough to get back together.
Crawling happens more on flat surfaces - because on a vertical serface
gravity helps the flow back over part.
I suggest you find a way to make your own glazes so they can be "fixed"
when something goes wrong. Get a copy of our book - you will probably find
at least one glaze there - the licorice - (black) that will work as the
under glaze. I can help you modify the top glaze if there is nothing that
works right away.
I think that application is very inportant the way you are using these
glazes - how do you control it?
RR
>I'm writing again out of desperation. The Christmas season is hard upon me
>and I'm having some very aggravating troubles with my best selling glaze.
>I'll try to explain...
>
>I use the Laguna B-mix 5 which I bisque to cone 06 and glaze fire to cone
>6. The 2 glazes I use have been formulated by a pottery supplier--one is a
>gloss black and the other is a light blue, called Catalina Blue (they
>won't give out the recipe, understandably, so I can't tell you the
>components of the glaze). I dip my pots in the black for about 4 seconds
>or so and then, once dry, i do a quick dip in the cat. blue. The result is
>a lovely dark speckled blue with edges ringed in a glossy black.
>
>The problem I've had off and on is that there will be areas, some small,
>some larger, where the blue looks to have sort of curled back, or simply
>disappeared and leaves behind a dull sort of black. It happens most often
>on my mugs... almost never on the bigger serving bowls. I've tried all
>sorts--firing cooler, firing hotter, soaking, etc. I always wipe the
>bisque before dipping in glaze, and let's see, what else??? I thinned out
>the blue until, in my last firing (taken out a few depressing minutes ago)
>it came out too black and just doesn't cut it.
>
>What am I missing? Why does it work sometimes and other times not? Why the
>mugs? Would it make a difference to bisque to a 04 temp. or perhaps spray
>my glazes on?????
>
>I've only been in the potting game now for about 2 years so I feel pretty
>green (or blue) at it all. I love it but it sure can be
>frusterating....... :) I'm still smiling though.
>
>Thanks for any help.....
>Ben Friesen
>Stonepath Pottery
>Abbotsford, BC, Canada
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Ben Friesen on tue 26 oct 04
Thanks for your help here Ron (and others who've commented--appreciated all
the input). I'm on my way tomorrow to buy your book.... I was just wondering
if the glazes from there fit well with the Laguna B-mix 5??
I have made some of my own glazes from Michael Bailey's book but this exact
combo i just can't find anywhere (the blue black look). hopefully we can
come up with something with the Licorice black and maybe using the same blue
I have been.
I'm also going to try another test load and let my glazes dry better. This
last one with the poor results I actually loaded wet as the double layer
takes so long to dry. Maybe that was part of my problem.
Regarding the application: I have the black thinned to where I can just
barely see my fingernail underneath. In all my testing I now have my blue
thinned to the point where very little stays on my hand! Probably too thin
by now..... a long dip of black followed by a quick dip of blue. Is that
what you were wondering?
Thanks again,
Ben Friesen
Stonepath Pottery
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Roy"
To:
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 10:09 PM
Subject: Re: problems with blue on black (rather long)
> Hi Ben,
>
> Some glazes have a propensity to crawl - especially when fired wet - make
> sure the glaze is dry before firing.
>
> Crawling happens during the beginning of a firing - as the glaze shrinks -
> cracks form and sometimes the glaze peels back so far it does not flow
back
> over the gaps during the end of the firing. This happens with thicker
> applications more than thin - and more on smooth clays than rough.
>
> If the gaps are not too wide - soaking at the end of a firing will
> sometimes let the glaze flow enough to get back together.
>
> Crawling happens more on flat surfaces - because on a vertical serface
> gravity helps the flow back over part.
>
> I suggest you find a way to make your own glazes so they can be "fixed"
> when something goes wrong. Get a copy of our book - you will probably find
> at least one glaze there - the licorice - (black) that will work as the
> under glaze. I can help you modify the top glaze if there is nothing that
> works right away.
>
> I think that application is very inportant the way you are using these
> glazes - how do you control it?
>
> RR
> >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
> Ron Roy
> RR#4
> 15084 Little Lake Road
> Brighton, Ontario
> Canada
> K0K 1H0
> Phone: 613-475-9544
> Fax: 613-475-3513
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
John Hesselberth on wed 27 oct 04
On Tuesday, October 26, 2004, at 08:36 PM, Ben Friesen wrote:
> I was just wondering
> if the glazes from there fit well with the Laguna B-mix 5??
Hi Ben,
I have been working with a couple boxes of this clay and our glazes
recently. So far I haven't seen any fit problems, although I have only
been working on small pieces. Also I have not run the freezer to
boiling water test so take what I say as only a casual assessment. I
don't like the way Waterfall looks on it--it is too much like porcelain
and overfluxes Waterfall. The other glazes looks fine on C5 B-mix--at
least the ones I have tried. I won't try them all--I've about used up
what I have and I probably won't buy more.
Regards,
John
John Hesselberth
http://www.frogpondpottery.com
http://www.masteringglazes.com
Mark Tigges on thu 28 oct 04
>> On Tuesday, October 26, 2004, at 08:36 PM, Ben Friesen wrote:
>
> > I was just wondering
> >if the glazes from there fit well with the Laguna B-mix 5??
>
Hi Ben,
I've been using the glazes from this book exclusively though not so
long. I've just gotten back into the game in the last year after a
few years away from it. (BTW, I'm also in the lower mainland of BC.)
I also use the B-Mix 5, and also Lagunas Calico.
I have tried the following glazes from John and Ron,
Licorice
Raspberry
Field Mouse Brown
Variegated Blue
Waterfall Brown
I have only tried the licorice once, it was underfired and the results
are a bit disspointing, I haven't gone back to it yet. But don't
despair, I should refire those vessels to get a better idea.
The Raspberry is GORGEOUS on B-Mix, not so nice on Calico. Though I
have found that it should be applied on the thinner side for the best
results.
The FMB and VB on B-Mix have become my staples. I find that
over-dipping FMB on top of VB can yield truly stunning results.
Interestingly the reverse is not nearly as attractive. FMB on Calico
yields something to be desired. Though in one firing that went a cone
and a half high this combination yielded some really amazing results.
Waterfall brown ... what a glaze. There is a comment in the book that
(hopefully RR and JB won't mind if I quote inaccurately) goes
something like; "If you can consistently apply and fire this glaze
with comparable results as ours you truly have become skilled at
glazing." I have to concur. There is a lot to learn using this
glaze. Johns comments which I've included below are very true. I
recently glazed a teapot with the WB on top of the VB. The WB was on
the lid, the first inch of the pot, and all on the handle, it ran
right off the handle down the front of the pot around the spout, kept
going right down on to the kiln shelf. I saved it for the most
part. It was a gift for a friend, so I don't need to sell it luckily,
but it does look spectacular, it is aptly named. I have tried WB on
smaller teabowls and it does run enough that it leaves barer areas on
the pot. Quite frankly though this isn't in my opinion completely
unattractive. I quite like it.
There are some images online if you want to have a look, send me an
email and I'll you the URL if you wanted to have a look at these
glazes on B-Mix 5.
> On Wed, Oct 27, 2004 at 08:46:25PM -0400, John Hesselberth wrote:
> Hi Ben,
>
> I have been working with a couple boxes of this clay and our glazes
> recently. So far I haven't seen any fit problems, although I have only
> been working on small pieces. Also I have not run the freezer to
> boiling water test so take what I say as only a casual assessment. I
> don't like the way Waterfall looks on it--it is too much like porcelain
> and overfluxes Waterfall. The other glazes looks fine on C5 B-mix--at
> least the ones I have tried. I won't try them all--I've about used up
> what I have and I probably won't buy more.
John,
Can you give us any more thoughts on particular successful
combinations? I was interested in trying the spearmint (I think
that's what you've called it).
Best regards,
Mark Tigges
John Hesselberth on thu 28 oct 04
Hi Mark,
Try this combination on for size. Bone on the inside and over the rim,
Variegated Slate Blue on the outside and Pete Pinnell's Weathered
Bronze Green --
http://www.frogpondpottery.com/glazestability/glaze0022.html -- (a
light coat) dipped so it covers both. Let the first two dry just enough
so you can handle them before dipping the pot in WBG. Not good for a
soup bowl that will be subject to metal marking, but for a little
Scotch-on-the-rocks cup (I don't make tea cups--just Scotch or martini
cups) it's dynamite.
I'm glad you are having success with our glazes and beginning to
experiment. I'll have to try Field Mouse Brown over Variegated Blue. I
don't think I tried that one yet. So many tests, so little time.
And thanks for the good chuckle. I could just see Waterfall drooling
off that teapot and onto your kiln shelf. The devil makes me laugh
about those kinds of "educational experiences".
Regards,
John
On Thursday, October 28, 2004, at 12:49 PM, Mark Tigges wrote:
> Can you give us any more thoughts on particular successful
> combinations? I was interested in trying the spearmint (I think
> that's what you've called it).
>
> Best regards,
>
> Mark Tigges
John Hesselberth
http://www.frogpondpottery.com
http://www.masteringglazes.com
Ron Roy on fri 29 oct 04
Hi Ben,
Using the dipped finger method for evaluating glaze thickness is OK - but
not with dark glazes - and sometimes it is not precise enough for some
glazes.
Use a piece if bisque (always have some on hand) fired to you usual bisque
temperature - dip for say 3 seconds - let the glaze dry a bit and scratch
through the glaze - you can then see how thick the glaze is. It is the best
way to be consistent that I know of.
The second coat should go on before the first coat is dry for sure - but
give the first coat a little time to dry a bit.
We all have to find the way that works for us and there are many ways to
get it right - also - some ways are better than others - you just have to
find the one that works for you.
RR
>Thanks for your help here Ron (and others who've commented--appreciated all
>the input). I'm on my way tomorrow to buy your book.... I was just wondering
>if the glazes from there fit well with the Laguna B-mix 5??
>
>I have made some of my own glazes from Michael Bailey's book but this exact
>combo i just can't find anywhere (the blue black look). hopefully we can
>come up with something with the Licorice black and maybe using the same blue
>I have been.
>
>I'm also going to try another test load and let my glazes dry better. This
>last one with the poor results I actually loaded wet as the double layer
>takes so long to dry. Maybe that was part of my problem.
>
>Regarding the application: I have the black thinned to where I can just
>barely see my fingernail underneath. In all my testing I now have my blue
>thinned to the point where very little stays on my hand! Probably too thin
>by now..... a long dip of black followed by a quick dip of blue. Is that
>what you were wondering?
>
>Thanks again,
>Ben Friesen
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Mark Tigges on wed 17 nov 04
On Thu, Oct 28, 2004 at 09:49:31AM -0700, Mark Tigges wrote:
> >> On Tuesday, October 26, 2004, at 08:36 PM, Ben Friesen wrote:
> >
> > > I was just wondering
> > >if the glazes from there fit well with the Laguna B-mix 5??
> >
> The FMB and VB on B-Mix have become my staples. I find that
> over-dipping FMB on top of VB can yield truly stunning results.
> Interestingly the reverse is not nearly as attractive. FMB on Calico
> yields something to be desired. Though in one firing that went a cone
> and a half high this combination yielded some really amazing results.
I have to report back on this. Previously I hadn't been using the -80
rate that RR and JH recommend for the first three hours of cool down.
So, my results wrt to all of their glazes were with a fast cool down.
Yesterday I did my first glaze firing with a pyrometer, and so had
information by which I could adjust the kiln. FMB behaves
substantially different with a fast cool down (far superior with the
slow cooling IMO). The other glazes have less subtle improvements.
Interestingly though, I prefer the result of FMB on VB with a fast
cool than with a slow cool. It is still attractive, a very nice
greenish on the bmix, which melts beautifully into the variegated blue
with dust of blue in the interface region. But the result is much
more pronounced with the fast cool down and dare I say more
attractive. If others are interested, I will take photographs of
similar pots with side by side comparison of the fast and the slow
cool down.
Mark.
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