Lissa B. on thu 16 dec 04
Hello again and thanks for the replies to my kiln noises lol. So much to
learn and I wish I had a mentor so for now I have to bug you guys with my
dilemmas.
Okay so this really nice potter at the studio I attend started teaching me
about glazes and even gave me a recipe. He since closed his email account
and told me he would write again when he had a new email address. My
problem is he gave me this recipe and me being a beginner, I have NO idea
how much water I am supposed to use. I feel so stupid not knowing this
and I am sure it=92s something simple but I would really like to get some
feed back from you guys if possible.
I'm getting confused because I remember him mentioning that they should
add up to 100. Maybe I am thinking that the percentages should add up to
100 and since these are in grams then I just use the same amount of
water??? I'm so lost:((
Basic Clear Glaze
90 grams frit (3124)
60 grams whiting
10 grams EPK
3 grams bentonite
Sincerely,
The Lonely Aspiring Potter (**puppy dog face**... pretty please help me!!!)
P.S. I have the above chemical and frit 3195 and something called
4R01...not sure what that one is I think its a frit but I can't seem to
find any receipes to use it with.
Cindy on fri 17 dec 04
Dear Lissa,
Don't worry. If you add too little water, you can always add more. If you
add too much, you can always scoop some off the top when the glaze has
settled.
This glaze doesn't add up to 100, which is inconvenient. I'll let the glaze
gurus address that. The bentonite doesn't count--it's a glaze conditioner,
to make the glaze stay in suspension longer and thicken it. It's best to mix
the bentonite by itself with a little bit of water, just as you would do
with corn starch. Either that, or mix it in well with one of the other
chemicals before adding the whole thing to the water.
Start with a very small amount of water. You will want to start out by
making a test batch of glaze, so I'm talking about a very small amount of
water--maybe 1/8 cup to begin with. You add the chemicals to the water. Try
not to stir up too much dust and do wear a NIOSH approved mask. Let the
powders soak into the water a little, then stir them up. If there's a lot of
dry powder sitting on top, you could dribble in a little more water. Don't
worry if you get too much. The glaze will settle overnight and you can take
water off the top.
My biggest problem with test glazes is getting them mixed up well enough. I
like to use one of those stick blender things they sell to mix up
nutritional drinks. About $10. Worth the money if you're going to do much
glaze testing at all. Or you can use an old blender. It's always best to let
the glaze sit and slake overnight. They thicken. So, next day, take off some
water if you think the glaze was too thin. Stir your glaze back up and
adjust to preference by adding water a little at a time. You usually want
about the thickness of heavy cream, but clear glazes are better at about a
whole milk consistency.
Good luck, and have fun!
Cindy Skillman
Earl Krueger on sat 18 dec 04
On Thursday 16 December 2004 11:46 am, Lissa B. wrote:
> So much to learn and I wish I had a mentor so for
> now I have to bug you guys with my dilemmas.
Lissa, You have about 3000 mentors here.
> I'm getting confused because I remember him mentioning
> that they should add up to 100. Maybe I am thinking that
> the percentages should add up to 100 and since these are
> in grams then I just use the same amount of water??? I'm
> so lost:((
> Basic Clear Glaze
> 90 grams frit (3124)
> 60 grams whiting
> 10 grams EPK
> 3 grams bentonite
Normally recipies, as you've given above, add up to 100.
It's just a convention to make comparisons and scaling
easier. Since your recipie adds up to 163 it's like having
a bread recipie that makes 1.6 loaves of bread. If you
wanted to make just 1 loaf you could just divide each
amount by the total ( 90 / 163 = 0.55 ) and then multiply
by 100 ( 0.55 X 100 = 55 ). Do this for each ingredient in
your glaze and you end up with:
55 grams frit 3124
37 grams whiting
6 grams EPK
2 grams bentonite
100
I did round the numbers off to the nearest whole number to
make it easier. I doubt that this would have much effect
on the glaze but if you were concerned you could always
include a decimal point to each ingredient.
As to how much water to add, I usually start with 80 g for
each 100 g of dry materials and then thin with more to get
the density I want. This is something you just have to
play with because it will vary depending on how high you
fire your bisque, how thick the pot is, how you apply the
glaze and and what your mood is on a particular day.
Good luck and don't be afraid to ask more questions.
Also, check your library to see if there are some good books
there that could help you.
--
Earl K...
Bothell WA, USA
"You may be disappointed if you fail,
but you are doomed if you don't try."
Beverly Sills (1929 - )
Lissa B. on sun 19 dec 04
Dear Earl,
Thanks a million for the reply. I have checked out EVERY book our central
library here in queens has for ceramics and glazes... no joke. I just
happen to be the type of learner that absorbs the most info from hearing
it and reading it then trying it. I wish I could just get all I needed
from a book but I couldn't grasp the concepts until you or the others
replied and broke it down for me.
Thanks for the scenario... it helped clear up my confusion... for now at
least.
It's comforting to know that there are so many potters available to point
me in the right direction. I look forward to being able to pass on the
knowledge and advice at some point:-)
Sincerely,
The Very Addicted Potter
Lissa B.
Queens Village, NY
| |
|
