Nearly every kiln opening brings with it some nice surprises and some disappointments. Occasionally, the disappointments are hard to bear, when a pot you spent alot of time making is ruined in the final glaze firing. Today was such a day and, although I was pleased with much of the work, some of the glazes had crawled badly, I think because the black slip had been applied too thickly to the bisqued ware.
Here are a few of the pieces I was happy with:
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| Bottle vase, approx. 6 inches tall |
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| Sake bottle approx. 4.5 inches tall |
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| Lidded vessel, approx. 8 inches tall |
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| Sake cup, approx. 2.5 inches tall |
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| Bowl, approx. 4 inches tall |
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| Bottle-vase, approx 7 inches tall |
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| Cup, approx 2.5 inches tall |
Most of these pieces were decorated with a black slip (after bisquing), then a clear glaze was brushed on.
After much experimentation, I've also come up with a formula for an orange slip which I like the look of. I think this shade of orange works quite well alongside the black or iron underglaze decoration. I may try and darken it a little more, I'm not sure yet..
The slip was made using Scarva's Hobby Orange stain which is stable up to cone 10. This trial piece and all the other pots were fired to cone 9. I am surprised that the manufacturer states that 10-15% needs to be added to a slip as for many coloured stains, I find this is nowhere near enough, unless you want to get a very pale, pastel shade. To achieve this strong orange colour I used a 50/50 mix of clay and stain powder..so i'll need to go easy with it, as it costs £9.80 for 100 grams!
If anyone knows a cheaper way to obtain a deep orange colour under clear glaze, please let me know!
Never give up..the best is yet to come!
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