Lili Krakowski on wed 27 sep 06
"If there are unofficial rules pertaining to what a new person may ask and
how they may word it.... Maybe "Mr Brown glaze" is asking because books
are expensive and libraries don't always carry ceramic books. Maybe he's
asking a deliberately vague question just to see the variation of answers he
gets. Maybe he doesn't know where to look. Did anyone suggest a very good
basic glaze book to this guy? How much do you have to know to be on here? I
think people join clayart because it's a place for discussion answers and
questions from many many people all over the world. And that is a beautiful
thing."
No, Janine, there are no rules, thank goodness. And there is no need to
know.
Anyone can ask anything the Moderator allows.
I am perfectly aware many people start pottery on their own and have a
hard time figuring stuff out.
But, leaving aside that some Inquirers manage to include "please" or
similar politesses, that was not my point.
There is a philosophic [?] concept that one cannot ask a question without
encompassing its answer. Ok. But there is a REAL LIFE concept that an
Inquirer should present a question so that potential responders
understand. Does this person just need a glaze, and knows how to mix and
test and use it? Or does this person think glazes are like housepaint?
Why is this person moving a c. 6 electric glaze to c10 reduction? Is he
experimenting? Does he rent kiln space, and had to change? These things
matter when formulating replies.
I know how basic answers sometimes have to be. My "test" for potential
copy-writers (in my ad manager days) was to have them write directions for
making a bed---for people who never had slept in a bed before. Basic.
Libraries interloan. Many colleges allow one access to their books
although one cannot take them out (Some colleges charge a small fee to allow
one to borrow. BUT the second hand booksellers on the Internet --Abebooks,
Alibris, Biblio, AddAll--these are the ones I have used, there may be more--
sell books very cheap. Considering what coffee at a Dunkin'Donuts et al
costs these days, second-hand books are cheap. Rhodes, Nelson, Fraser,
Kenny, Casson, Cooper, Birks....the list is huge.
Checking only two second-hand dealers on the internet:
Rhodes: Clay and Glazes can be had for $4.95 and up (see note below)
Nelson: A Potter's Handbook, $2.95 and up (see note below)
Kenny: The Complete Book of Pottery Making, $3.20 and up (see note below)
Fraser: Glazes for the Craft Potter $8.63 and up (see note below.)
Postage is extra, around $3-4
One does not need ALL these books. . I still buy pottery books, because, as
Hobart Cowles used to say--if you learn even just one thing from a book, it
is worth it.
NOTE BELOW (See?) Older editions of these books will include recipes
containing lead, cadmium, barium, antimony and other materials we no longer
use for safety reasons. HOWEVER the actual information about how
ingredients perform remains accurate and useful. And we do know, don't we,
that none of you is messing with glaze without having Monona Rossol's
"Artist's Complete Guide to Health and Safety" read and on hand. HERE it
DOES matter that you get the latest edition.
There are no really simple answers to glaze questions because so much is
based on individual ingredients and how they work, as well as firing
techniques. After the "c.6 dark green to c.10 R" question I looked
into Cooper to find that his high fire greens are chrome based...And the
reduction greens are iron based...OK? And as I do not do reduction I myself
would have to test...and test...and test.
And now I must post those recipes I promised an earlier Inquirer.
Janine Roubik on thu 28 sep 06
Hello Ms. Lili,
I wasn't mad - sorry if I worried you or anything. I was just a little concerned.
>There is a philosophic [?] concept that one cannot ask a question without
>encompassing its answer. Ok. But there is a REAL LIFE concept that an
>Inquirer should present a question so that potential responders
>understand. Does this person just need a glaze, and knows how to mix and
>test and use it? Or does this person think glazes are like housepaint?
>Why is this person moving a c. 6 electric glaze to c10 reduction? Is he
>experimenting? Does he rent kiln space, and had to change? These things
>matter when formulating replies.
These are all very good points, and, yes things that should have been clarified in the original question to get more concise answers. But who knows what one person "knows" or does not "know". When I was teaching I would try to pry around to figure out people's levels - trying to be very sensitive that those levels may differ wildly. I think I made a lady feel bad in one class (on accident - I went to a very technical explanation right off the bat and her eyes glazed over and she looked very worried) so I've been paranoid of that ever since. I would assume (but you know what happens when you assume) that anyone looking for a glaze recipe would know at least how to mix it up.
But that may be a moot point now, because, not seeing anything from the original poster leads me to believe he just shrugged and used the good ol' delete button....which I probably should have done, seeing that it wasn't my post.
I think I'm going to try the 2nd hand book places you mentioned, but secretly. My husband works at a bookstore so I usually try to get stuff through them to help their sales. But I don't think they're going to go out of business with out my one or two books a year : ) If you would have any interest in this I think it might be nice for a bunch of people to get together a list of books that we use and what specific things they are particularily good for, perhaps rated on a scale of 1 - "easy-laymans-terms" to 5 - "blue-in-the-face-chemistry".
>There are no really simple answers to glaze questions because so much is
>based on individual ingredients and how they work, as well as firing
>techniques.
Application, specific gravity etc, etc, There are so many variables and that is what makes glazes so fascinating. I think it is still kind of funny that even on here, there will be a recipe thrown out with no indication of the kind of firing it likes, specific gravity etc... I will try to do that as much as possible. Now I'm rambling...
Well, thank you for taking the time to clear things up. I do respect your posts and please don't think I have something against you now.
Thanks,
Janine
{Not feeling so sensitive and peacenik-ish today because I'm on tons of cold medicine which makes me a real crank-ass.}
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