Stephani Stephenson on tue 18 jul 06
here's a question glaze gurus!
highly crazed glazes are all the rage in the high end commercial tile
world
Walker Zanger and others have new lines that are so crazed they look
like bottle class melted onto clay.
these are being used in bathrooms and kitchens.
Someone told me that when they asked about the crazing , with regard to
staining, seepage, freeze thaw, etc...
they were told that the tile was sealed with a sealant so there would
be no problem
this is interesting to me
One, because these are the big guys making this stuff
I have often loved the extra protection these new penetrating sealants
offer, but am just never sure about how much they can really do or for
how long...then again...I know they are pretty effective
I would love to know just what the claims are and the testing has been.
Or maybe this is, in fact, achieved without a sealant?
such as a crazed glazed which is then glazed over with a clear?
is there any way to achieve this look without compromising the
integrity of the glaze surface?
is this the same old crazing or something entirely new and tested????
I still wince when I see the stuff though. expect it to fly right off
the tile.
Stephani Stephenson
steph@revivaltileworks.com
http://www.revivaltileworks.com
Richard Aerni on wed 19 jul 06
Hello Stephanie,
First, I'm not a glaze guru, and I'm really just talking out my a** on this
one, but if they are said to be functional, here's how I would have
approached the situation...
I would either treat the tile with a vitreous slip first, and then apply the
high expansion/shrinkage glaze, or I would layer glazes so that there is a
sealed layer under the crazed glaze, or I would twice fire so that there is
either a thin layer of uncrazed glaze over the crazed glaze, or vice versa.
Just my thoughts...
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY...but heading to Cincinnati in about 10 minutes...
On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 19:13:48 -0700, Stephani Stephenson
wrote:
> here's a question glaze gurus!
>
>highly crazed glazes are all the rage in the high end commercial tile
>world
>
>Walker Zanger and others have new lines that are so crazed they look
>like bottle class melted onto clay.
>these are being used in bathrooms and kitchens.
>
>Someone told me that when they asked about the crazing , with regard to
>staining, seepage, freeze thaw, etc...
>they were told that the tile was sealed with a sealant so there would
>be no problem
>this is interesting to me
>
Bruce Girrell on wed 19 jul 06
Richard Aerni wrote:
> I'm really just talking out my a** on this one,
'Scuse me Richard, but if you are the same Richard Aerni whose work I have
seen here in the Charlevoix, MI area, you know very well what you are
talking about. Your high fire white crackle glaze is awesome.
Bonnie, am I confusing potters, or is Richard just being modest?
Bruce Girrell
enjoying the short, but beautiful summer in northern Michigan
Ivy Glasgow on wed 19 jul 06
My guess is that the tiles are sealed with a "siloxane" type sealer like
Prosoco that is applied cold. This will last 2-4 years and then need to be
reapplied.
Here's a thought- How much does it matter if tiles on an [interior] wall are
crazed? Consider for a moment today's disposable society... In a modern
installation, the tile is thinset over greenboard or hardibacker. The wall
flexes a little. Not good. The grout gives out first... in about 20 years if
it was really well installed to begin with. Once the grout gives out, the
wall behind the tile will rot out in another 10-15 years. Then the tile must
be torn out and replaced to fix the wall. By then the tile has become
unfashionable and the new owners want to update, remodel, put in a sauna,
whatever. The tiles would have easily lasted another 100 years, but the
building wouldn't have anyways.
I'm not sure crazed tiles matter in a careful installation either. I've seen
many very old, crazed tiles still holding their own in tub enclosures and
kitchens and not appearing stained or decrepit. How did all those tile baths
and countertops from the '40's survive? The tiles are thick-set in serious
mortar & lath. Flexure does not happen here. I suppose any moisture that
seeps through the tile & grout just hangs out in the mortar till it
disperses. A side benefit of older buildings is that they are not so tightly
sealed that a drop of moisture inside a wall will create a plague of mold...
But don't get me started...
Crazed tiles are of course inappropriate for a swimming pool, tub floor,
fountain, or outdoor walkway. Walker Zanger doesn't seem to have their full
specs listed online, but I imagine that this is noted in the specs.
Come to think of it, the only actual *tile* failures I have ever seen have
been saltillo tile which wore away, and swimming pool tile which faded.
Just curious- Have any Clayarters seen tiles (not grout) that failed in a
freeze-thaw incident? Or in other ways?
Ivy G., still thinking like an architect
On Tue, 18 Jul 2006 19:13:48 -0700, Stephani Stephenson
wrote:
> here's a question glaze gurus!
>
>highly crazed glazes are all the rage in the high end commercial tile
>world
>
>Walker Zanger and others have new lines that are so crazed they look
>like bottle class melted onto clay.
>these are being used in bathrooms and kitchens.
>
>Someone told me that when they asked about the crazing , with regard to
>staining, seepage, freeze thaw, etc...
>they were told that the tile was sealed with a sealant so there would
>be no problem
>this is interesting to me
>
Elizabeth Priddy on wed 19 jul 06
Look in the archives on all the sealant solutions to
raku work. There are some really good solutions out
there today, designed to keep the crazy colors, but
also moisture locks.
Also, a trip to Pier One is in order. They are
carrying a line of plates that are made in China but
food safe and the best I can tell, they are glazed
with a liner glaze and then a glaze on top of that
that crawls and then settles in.
They are red, crazed and smooth and food safe.
You have to touch them to believe it. It is in the
dinnerware. And while you are there, check out the
giant tile and bowl pieces.
Even in the big platter market, the average neo-yuppie
is gonna be sourcing their work between potters and
Pier One and the reality is that $100 goes a lot
further in China than here.
I just can't understand how they ship it without
breakage. It is almost worth going undercover at Pier
One just to get a cashier's job to learn about packing
by unpacking all that mess.
I may have just broken into the 2-500 dollar market
with some of my recent tile work and now I have to
learn to ship it.
yargh.
E.
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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Bonnie Staffel on thu 20 jul 06
Hey Bruce,
Thanks for connecting me with Aerni, one of my favorite potters right =
next
to you, Bruce. No, I do not make crazed white pots intentionally and am
lucky that my basic white glaze has worked so well for me over the span =
of
my career. When the artist who put together the mural from the shards =
of
broken pottery found at my old studio, she included a portion showing a
white crazed glaze. I immediately called attention to it telling the
present owner that those pieces weren't found in my shard pile!!! She
confessed that she needed a few bold white spots and found the crazed =
shards
somewhere else on the planet. You can see this mural on the Flickr site
under my name. Some of the white "stone" paths were where the crazed =
shards
were placed. =20
Hope to see you in the Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair, August 12, rain =
or
shine. This is one of the oldest and after Ann Arbor, largest fair in =
the
state. I was in their third fair back in the 60's and was instrumental =
in
making our decision to move to Charlevoix to live and work. One of many
smart decisions in my life. The treasures of my life in Charlevoix have
been the many friends made over the years as well as having my pots =
living
all over the world purchased by the many foreign visitors who come to =
this
treasured space on this earth. =20
Warm regards,
Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Beginning Processes
Charter Member Potters Council
Snail Scott on thu 20 jul 06
At 12:15 PM 7/19/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Have any Clayarters seen tiles (not grout) that failed in a
>freeze-thaw incident? Or in other ways?
Th Del Taco fast-food chain decorated its stores
with clusters of red and green tiles set into
the exterior stucco walls. The green tiles look
fine, but at many of their locations, the red
glaze has spalled off almost completely, showing
the clay underneath, with just a bit of the glaze
remaining near the edges of the tiles. Looks like
earthenware from the drive-through lane, though
I've never gotten out of the car to poke at it.
-Snail
Richard Aerni on thu 20 jul 06
>
>'Scuse me Richard, but if you are the same Richard Aerni whose work I have
>seen here in the Charlevoix, MI area, you know very well what you are
>talking about. Your high fire white crackle glaze is awesome.
>
>Bruce Girrell
Hi Bruce,
I believe you may be referencing the pots of my one-time partner, Michael
Frasca. If I am working with a white crackle glaze, it's happening after
I send the pots out to the Bier Gallery! Mike is a fantastic potter...but
there's a funny story about the genesis of that look (it's a kind of
Robert Sperry-like slip over glaze, right?)
Anyway, Mike mixes his own clay, and was working with a black glossy glaze
on some work, years ago. He was experiencing pop-off problems from some
bad stuff in his clay, and was frantic, trying to find the problem, and a
way to salvage all of this great pottery. He tried applying some of his
greenware white slip with a very broad brush (I'm assuming a binder of
some kind as well) and refired. The result? That wonderful slip on glaze
crackle effect.
I've often thought that many wonderful effects come about as a result of
mistakes we make.
Best wishes,
Richard Aerni
in Cincinnati, Ohio
>
Linda Blossom on fri 21 jul 06
Hi Stephani,
I too have wondered about this. However, when I
look at old tiles such as those on our old bus
station in town, I realize that they have held up
well outside. Now that is not quite as crazed as
you have stated. Knowing what we know about the
strength of the clay under a crazed clay probably we
wouldn't strive for this. Sealing it would not
improve this.
Seneca Tile in Ohio makes a tile that is crazed but
you cannot see the crazing. We had some and the
olive oil stains were apparent in a very short time
and I had them taken out and I made the tiles to
replace them. I spoke with the owner and he
admitted knowing very little about clay and glazes.
They had bought the recipes from someone else and
the crazing was partly a result of the sand on the
surface that was part of the look. They were
supposed to have put a notice in the boxes with the
tiles that instructed the installer to seal the
tiles. There is a sealer called a penetrating
sealer that would prevent this oil seepage problem.
I would say take something that crazed, use a
sealer, and then give it the olive oil test. It
will turn dark if it isn't sealed. I wouldn't see a
problem on a backsplash but I would not deliberately
put it on a countertop in a kitchen. Bathroom
perhaps.
Linda
here's a question glaze gurus!
highly crazed glazes are all the rage in the high
end commercial tile
world
Walker Zanger and others have new lines that are so
crazed they look
like bottle class melted onto clay.
these are being used in bathrooms and kitchens.
Someone told me that when they asked about the
crazing , with regard to
staining, seepage, freeze thaw, etc...
they were told that the tile was sealed with a
sealant so there would
be no problem
this is interesting to me
One, because these are the big guys making this
stuff
I have often loved the extra protection these new
penetrating sealants
offer, but am just never sure about how much they
can really do or for
how long...then again...I know they are pretty
effective
I would love to know just what the claims are and
the testing has been.
Or maybe this is, in fact, achieved without a
sealant?
such as a crazed glazed which is then glazed over
with a clear?
is there any way to achieve this look without
compromising the
integrity of the glaze surface?
is this the same old crazing or something entirely
new and tested????
I still wince when I see the stuff though. expect it
to fly right off
the tile.
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