Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Finally, some decent reduction!

I changed my mind about not firing with the saggar this time. Mainly because I had a eureka moment and figured I could coat the bottom of the saggar with sodium silicate, which might keep the oxygen out. I gave the ceramic fibre a couple of coatings and effectively glued the base of the saggar down with it. Then I put an inch layer of sand on top of the fibre. Actually, it's proved to be alot more trouble than making a container with a clay bottom, but maybe it won't crack as quickly, we'll see..

The good news is that I achieved enough reduction and the pots in there came out pretty well, imho.
Only taken a couple of pics so far but here is one of the shino sake cups and one with ash glaze:



I also have a nice lidded box but I've yet to be able to get the lid off. Experience has taught me to be patient when it comes to removing stuck lids..too much forcing and chips start to fly off..

The oxidation part of the firing was okay too, although my test pieces were a bit disappointing. I'll say a bit more about that later.
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6 comments:

  1. Charlene Doiron Reinhart6 June 2012 at 09:55

    oooh...both are luscious! As to the lid--it may pop off later. I had a lid stuck for 6 months. I'd go back and tap on it every once in a while. I finally decided it needed to go, but gave it one last tap--POP! The lid came free. Again--the sake cups are beautiful. Cheers!

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    Replies
    1. Mark Smalley6 June 2012 at 15:28

      thanks so much, Charlene..cheers! Oh, I put the box in the freezer earlier for an hour or so, then ran some hot water over the lid and it came off nicely! :)

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    2. Charlene Doiron Reinhart7 June 2012 at 13:27

      Oh, perfect! Love it when that happens---makes one smile all day!

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    3. Mark Smalley7 June 2012 at 13:48

      Yes, it did make me remarkably happy! :)

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  2. Linda Starr7 June 2012 at 06:15

    love the top one, try heating it up with a torch to release the lid, has worked for me.

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    Replies
    1. Mark Smalley7 June 2012 at 13:49

      thanks, Linda, I'll try that next time when all else fails.

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