Next Glaze Project

Well, I hate glazing. But I have these mugs for Shanna (by special request) so I must find an appropriate glaze for them.

The problem with this style, is that the glaze must not obscure the oxides in the engraved portion. Think I might try some wax resist.

This one has the "sprig" on the front, which I might leave as bare clay and glaze around it, using an oxide in the engraved part. I like this shape also; being wider at the base it's more stable on the table.

This one I like too, same shape as the "Thallium" mug, but the sprig is missing. A good glaze for this would be a semi-transparent one so the oxides could bleed through. A nice "breaking" glaze.

I wish I had paid more attention to chemistry in school - now that I'm making my own glazes it would be such a big help. Half the time it's more guesswork that knowing what I'm doing. But, as Shanna says, "Experiment"!

I'll post pics of the finished pots.

June 19th - Ti and Lizzie

Tiberius, showing off. Well, now it's obvious why he is called Ti-Chi! Such a gorgeous boy.

Ti was (another story) a Smooth Headed Roman goose, 6 weeks older than Lizzie. Here they are just under 5 weeks and eleven weeks old - quite a difference between them.

Unfortunately, we only had him for 4 days, before the coyotes came and got them both, late one Sunday afternoon.

We had gone inside to get the ribs to put on the B-B-Q, and when we got out, just minutes later, they were gone - not a sign of them, just a few feathers on the ground where they had been sitting. Needless to say, we were devastated. I didn't know that coyotes could move that fast; they must have been lying in wait.

Since then we have called some fence companies for quotes on a very heavy duty electric fence. I am also having our friend Oliver, come and take a look at the pond. I'd like it dug deeper and wider, with a better pathway between the upper meadow and lower one. Then, next year, when breeding season comes around again, we shall get some more Geese, but by then we will "KNOW" that they are all safe.

Having a Swim!

Here they are, at 8 days old and having a swim. Oddly, when you first "push" them in, they want to get out and be with us, but if you can keep them in for a few minutes, they settle down and ignore us. It's pretty amazing to see them dart around underwater, especially since they haven't got a "mom" to teach them how.

Also amazing, is how fast they grow. This weekend we are going to have to make some changes in their accommodations, since I'm expecting some ducklings (15) next week that will need the brooder.

Crater Glazes

I love opening the kiln! The fire Gods were good to us this time - the pots came out better than expected. While most of the time we want a lovely smooth, uncrazed glaze, this time we were looking for a good crater glaze, and wow! did we get one.

The pot on the left of the screen is porcelain, and the glaze used a 300 mesh silicon carbide - the one in the middle is stoneware with an 80 mesh silicon carbide and the one on the right is a red stoneware with the same glaze as the porcelain pot on the left. I don't usually use red stoneware, because it gets my hands dirty, and it contaminates so easily, but it looks wonderful with this glaze.

So, right now the test kiln is fired up and we have added a little copper oxide to see what colour variation we will get. Also, I slow fired these above, but in the current fire we are trying a medium speed to see if there is any difference (Kevin gets so impatient). Oxidation, straight ^6, no ramp, hold or soak.

And tomorrow, I need to spend the whole day glazing - the ware cart is full of bisque and there are oodles of greenware waiting to be fired. How can one have so much fun with their clothes on!

Life is good.