Perfect

I love mixing my own glazes. I like the freedom it gives me to experiment. The knowledge of ingredients lets me know what know what to expect as I make changes or layer glazes. Truthfully, I love donning my nerdy mask and eying my scales critically. It fulfills the mad scientist in me.

I also like knowing I can mix glazes and get unique look. However, this glaze, Xavier's Warm Green Jade, is mixed by a huge number of potters. It is a favorite because it is gorgeous and it performs every time! I love the crystallization that occurs on the bottoms of pots with Xavier's. The multiple glassy layers that form in the cooling are always exquisite. And the color! Who can resist jade green and cobalt blue?

Getting Organized

I operate pretty well in a cluttered, disorganized space for a while. Then, all of a sudden, I have an overwhelming urge to give everything a home. During this studio rebuild, we are moving everything a dozen times it seems. In stead of moving piles, I want to figure out where everything is going to live and then PUT IT THERE!

We spent the morning building this awesome work table. AND, we earned loads of good karma for upcycling! The table top is an old piece of formica counter top that was used on a kitchen island so both sides are rounded. We covered it in canvas which took Forever. Eternity. Tedious. But it is perfect! The canvas will keep the clay from sticking and the formica won't suck moisture out of the clay - it is a perfect marriage! A lot of the wood was actually 2x4 studs from a wall we took out in the studio. The shelf is made from the door that was in the wall we knocked down.

Once the table was complete, I painted for a while... or until I ran out of paint. Then I made my way to the glaze ingredients shelves. There are a lot of dangerous chemicals on these shelves and the plastic bags are hard to see. They fall over and off the shelves and when I am mixing glazes they are a pain in the rump to get in and out of. I decided to transfer my materials to airtight plastic storage and labeled everything with my P-touch. It is so much easier to see what I have and I feel like it is so much more secure. I discovered during this process that I had double bought several chemicals because I couldn't find anything before.

BEFORE

AFTER

Finally, I'll show something that is almost embarrassing. As I said before, I am happy in clutter a long time, but when I decide to get organized, I tend to go a little overboard... hence the P-touch labeler. On all of my glaze buckets, I have a huge label. I type up the formula in Word and create a table. The first two columns are the glaze formula. The next column is what is takes to make 5 gallons, then 1/2 a bucket, and finally a test batch. This label goes on test batches of glaze, full buckets, and anything else glaze lands in. I know it is a little bit crazy, but I always know where my glaze formulas are!

Val's Turquoise

I found the formula for this glaze in a Clay Times forum archive. I believe it is probably a Val Cushing glaze, but I am not sure. I made a test batch and tested the glaze on a buff stoneware and a darker speckled stoneware from Midsouth Ceramics. I was not crazy about the test on the buff clay, but the darker clay showed promise. The formula is available by clicking the test tile photo.
This mug does a better job showing off the glaze. It is a rich turquoise, but it has a lot of interest. Where it is thick, it is prone to blistering, so take care to finger sand any drips well. Hopefully, you can see this glaze is glossy and smooth. The turquoise color ranges from pale to almost teal in places. Even where the glaze breaks over the rim and handle, the surface remakes silky.

Mystery!

These tiles are tests of the same glaze - Xavier's Warm Green Jade - on two clay bodies - a buff and a brownstone.

Last month, I mixed up a round of new glazes to test and possibly add to our studio line. One of the glazes I mixed was Xavier's Warm Green Jade. Initially, I added too much water and the glaze was very thin. I did my first test tile on a buff clay, which resulted in the tile on the left. It suits the name - a warm green glaze.

After the glaze settled out, I poured some of the water off of the top. I mixed it again and dipped a second test tile, this time a brownstone clay which is my preferred clay body. The glaze went on much thicker this time, resulting in the tile on the right.

So, the mystery is... is the difference due solely to the thickness of the glaze, or it is due to something settling out? Was it not settled enough when I poured off the water? I plan to make a large bucket of this glaze, since I love it, but I want to continue to get the results on the right.

Xavier's Warm Green Jade
Custer Feldspar 22
Ferro Frit 3134 16
Whiting 12
EPK-Kaolin 20
Talc 9
Silica 21
ADD
Copper Carbonate 3
Rutile 5

Shopping Spree!

A girlfriend called to see what I was going to be up to while the kids were in school - my so called "day off". "I'm going shopping in Ashville!" I replied. She regretted she couldn't go and I thought she probably didn't have in mind what I did.

I hopped in the car and headed over the mountain into North Carolina. An hour later I pulled up in front of Highwater Clays. I was giddy! I got a squeaky shopping cart and perused the aisles for over an hour! I bought EPK! Rutile! Gerstley borate! Red Iron Oxide! Talc! It went on an on and I was so happy. I restocked my glaze supply shelves and got the supply run buzz!

I have been doing some more typical shopping, too. Christmas shopping! Here are a couple of things I have bought on etsy. Click the pictures to visit the seller's stores.

Glaze Tests

I've been mixing some new glazes and running tests on them and this Speckled Glaze looks promising. The test tile looks amazing! I also tested a thick coating on a coffee mug and it ran like hell and glued itself to a kiln shelf, so more work needs to be done. Still, this one is luscious!

Speckled Glaze ^6 Oxidation
Gerstley Borate 59
Talc 41
100%
add Rutile 18

I am also curious to see what would happen with iron oxide or cobalt carbonate as a colorant. There may be more to see from this glaze. I'll keep you posted.