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.

Custom, Custom, Custom

We enjoy doing custom orders for people, but lately, we have been covered up with them! I do not get over anxious about making the items perfect. I am comfortable knowing they like our style enough to trust us to create something just for them.

We are just about dug out from the avalanche and we are feeling less panicky about the length of our list. Ticked off our list this week are bowls, a tea set, and a number of family portrait ornaments. Still remaining are more bowls, monogrammed ornaments, and mugs. Back to the studio to keep plugging away!

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.