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

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.