Liz Willoughby on sun 1 may 05
Hello Claybuds,
I am remembering some pots made by Mark Hewitt, that are wood-fired
with glass that had been embedded in the clay near the top of the
vessel, and the effect of the glass running down the sides of the pot
is very attractive. His pots are of course wood-fired. Does anyone
know exactly how Mark does this, and what kind of glass he uses?
Meticky Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada.
You Must Believe in Spring
Steve Irvine on sun 8 may 05
>I am remembering some pots made by Mark Hewitt, that are wood-fired
>with glass that had been embedded in the clay near the top of the
>vessel, and the effect of the glass running down the sides of the pot
>is very attractive. His pots are of course wood-fired. Does anyone
>know exactly how Mark does this, and what kind of glass he uses?
>
>Meticky Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada.
Hi Liz,
I'm not sure how Mark Hewitt does this, but I'd be happy to share a technique I've used to get the
same effect. I don't use glass since the clay might crack on shrinking around the glass, and the
possibility of glass slivers getting into any raw clay makes me stay away from it.
Instead, what I do is to use a small round, square or triangular stamp to make a not too deep
impression in the side of the pot. Usually no more than about 3 mm deep, and then bisque the
pot. Then I take a material that fluxes easily at cone 10 such as gerstley borate, or Ferro frits 3110
or 3195 work well, and add water to a small amount to make the fluxing agent into a putty-like
consistency. I add a little white glue to the water, not much, just enough to make it opaque. The
glue might not be necessary but I think it helps to bind the powder together.
Press the fuxing putty into the impression made by the stamp and scrape away any extra. You can
even give it a light sanding to get a nice flush edge. Then let it dry completely, a couple hours will
do it, then glaze the pot any way you like, dipping, pouring or spraying. During the firing the
fluxing agent will melt into the glaze and give the running effect you are looking for.
It works well with Shaner red, and also looks good with those high calcium glazes that run into
rivulets as they melt. For added contrast you can brush a little cobalt on to the fluxing agent
before glazing, or even mix some oxides into the gerstley borate or frit when you make up the
putty mixture.
Steve Irvine
http://www.steveirvine.com
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