Gail Needham on thu 16 nov 06
The only glazes I have been around are already mixed. I see so much about
mixing and I wondered how could someone brand new get a grasp of it? Where
do you get it from to mix? I have a little info about recipes, but have no
idea where I would get the stuff to experiment with.
Thanks for resource info
Gail
Fred Parker on fri 17 nov 06
Hi Gail:
Having made the decision to delve into glaze mixing myself, I thought I'd
comment on your question. Mixing your own glazes opens a very broad
spectrum of choices, but it also brings frustrations. It takes much time,
patience, space and $$ to do it right, but once into it you'll never go
back.
I started with Hopper's "CLay and Glazes for the Potter." It covers much
ground. DOn't expect to understand all of it at first, but you need to
know about the chemistry involved. There are many other books available.
Maybe someone else has some suggestions.
Supplies are available from pottery supply houses. DOn't know where you
are, but if you're near Atlanta, Davens is where I get mine. Axner mail-
orders the stuff, but mail order can get expensive because of shipping.
If you fire electrically, read Ron and John's book, "Mastering Cone 6
Glazes." On second thought, read it regardless how you fire. They
explain some important concepts you need to know -- very important
concepts.
If you get this book, it contains some nice glaze recipes you can try for
starts. There are many, MANY glaze ingredients out there. If you use the
recipes in "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" several of their glazes can be mixed
from a limited number of ingredients, and you won't have to stock a
laboratory to succeed. This is a BIG advantage for just getting started.
Start simple and add ingredients as you branch out. Some glaze
ingredients are relatively benign; a few are lethally poisonous. Learn
which is which, and treat them accordingly.
There are a certain number of "overhead" items you will have to purchase
before you can mix your first glaze, and they are not cheap. A beam
balance scale is one of them. You should be able to measure to the
nearest tenth of a gram. You will need plastic buckets with lids - one
for each glaze you will mix in quantity, plus one for mixing/sieving.
Whatever you do, once you pass the "reading about it" stage, spend the 30
bucks or so for a "P-100 respirator." Use it whenever you are around any
glaze ingredients or clay dust. Do NOT settle for a cheaper paper mask.
They can kill you. A $30 respirator can save you. It's that simple.
Finally, follow the advice of those who know. For example, you MUST sieve
the mixed glazes before using them. Sieves are vulgarly expensive for
what they are, but necessary. Don't sieve and your fired glaze will look
like crap. That's pretty much a promise, and yes, I have tried it. And
no, a kitchen strainer won't work.
I'm guessing we spent around $400 to $500 to get set up and stocked with a
reasonable number of ingredients. Oxides (used as colorants) tend to be
quite expensive. Clays, silica etc. are not so costly. Get a lot of
plastic containers for glaze tests. Those little Ziplock cups with lids
work well. So do plastic containers sold in bulk in wholesale grocery
supply stores -- the kind used for potato salad and slaw in delicatessans -
- and they are much cheaper.
Good luck. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions, and ALWAYS wear
your respirator.
Fred Parker
On Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:13:32 -0600, Gail Needham
wrote:
>The only glazes I have been around are already mixed. I see so much about
>mixing and I wondered how could someone brand new get a grasp of it? Where
>do you get it from to mix? I have a little info about recipes, but have
no
>idea where I would get the stuff to experiment with.
>
>Thanks for resource info
>
>Gail
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
____
>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.
Snail Scott on mon 20 nov 06
At 03:02 PM 11/17/2006 -0500, Fred P. wrote:
>you MUST sieve
>the mixed glazes before using them. Sieves are vulgarly expensive for
>what they are, but necessary. Don't sieve and your fired glaze will look
>like crap.
Some do, some don't. Anything with whiting
will need seiving, bad! I tend to just
avoid the ones that need it. Lots of them
don't. I've got seives (lab surplus), but
what a pain. It'd better be one fine glaze,
to make me do that.
I generally test new recipes unseived, and
then seive and test again, all fired in the
same kiln load.
-Snail
| |
|
