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Came across a glazing demo, covers the basics with quite a few tips. Seems like there are a lot of posts here about basics of throwing but not glazing. This one is kind of a glazing 101 for dipping and pouring. It's long but might be helpful for anyone just starting out. If anyone else has come across any good demo's of glazing it would be nice to see those too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3RSJcOfhw8

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A very good start for dip and pour, but I do short glaze runs and only make enough to brush on... a whole new ball game. If I would give advice on brushing, the main thing I would say is keep the glaze thick, and try to "flow" it off the brush rather than painting it on like you would do a wall in the house. That way you do not have to do it twice, and You don't get streaks.

 

The key to a "flow" is to load up the brush and stop brushing when you feel it begin to starve out and pull against the clay. Load up again immediately and try to keep a "wet edge" (as the house painters say) against the last brush stroke. Thick glaze minimizes streaking since the glaze tend to level over the surface as it fluxes and becomes fluid.

 

PS ... dip and Pour are the way to go if you are doing production runs.

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Thanks for posting your tips Bob!

 

Maybe it’s just me but time and again I’ve seen new potters being disappointed with how their work looks after the glaze fire. Dunking their work into a bucket of glaze and crossing their fingers that it comes out of the kiln okay seems to be the norm. Going on a wing and a prayer approach to glazing. It’s a shame to see after someone has spent so long working on a piece. I think a lot of people dread glazing and yet don’t take the necessary time practicing it or washing a piece off and starting again if the glaze doesn't go on right. I expect it's not the same everywhere but when I was learning to glaze there was far less time spent by the instructors on glazing procedures than what most of us students wanted.

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Maybe it’s just me but time and again I’ve seen new potters being disappointed with how their work looks after the glaze fire.

 

 

Going on a wing and a prayer approach to glazing.

 

No its not you min, I'm one of those people. A wing and a prayer is a good way of expressing it.

 

I rarely look at TV or Youtube, I quickly get restless quickly and feel I need to do something.. What's funny is I can sit for hours reading. So far after 3 sessions I'm into 30 minutes of the video you posted. A few more days and I'll have it finished.

 

I think my first problem is I not knowing how a particular glaze will look once fired. When I first started I purchased 18 one pint jars of different glazes. After my first firing I found that the glazes I thought I would like I didn't and glazes I thought I wouldn't like I did. I know practice will cure this.

 

My second problem not knowing how two glazes will look together. I know practice will cure that.

 

When I used to paint my primary style was photorealistic. When I'm wood working,  wood turning or metal working I commonly work to .001". When it comes to ceramics I need to learn to loosing up. I know practice will cure that.

 

I'm at the stage when it comes to glazing that I still don't know the right questions to ask.

 

I know I can do it, I just need to practice.

 

Anyway, thanks for the video

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Ron,

 

After the first few forays into glazing in my first semester of ceramics I was introduced into test tiles and what they could do for me.  We had about 10 glazes in the studio so I made a large tile and marked off 100 squares on the tile - think chess board - and created a grid with each glaze having a row and a column.  Glazes were applied first to the rows and then to the columns.  Each square in the grid had a first coat of one glaze and a second coat of another glaze.  With one firing, I got  100 samples of how the 10 glazes interacted with each other and individuality.  That was the most useful glaze exercise that semester.  Since then I have used the same idea for the glazes I use regularly and for glazes I want to explore.  I have used a variety of 'test' pieces - shot cups to large bowls to just a glob of clay.  If I keep the test pieces small, they fit into the kiln easily in the 'shadows' of larger pieces. 
 

Susan Peterson's textbook "The Art and Craft of Clay" explains the technique plus images of the grid.  It is the best reference for understanding 'glazing' that I have encountered.

LT

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Here's some links on the subject I've saved:

 

How to make a simple sprayer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFtydHZGwTw

 

Beginner's class glaze info:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z6bTdkf_pE

 

Understanding what glaze is for beginners:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHACmMQCP5Q

 

Glazes in the studio, choosing, testing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI13-UuUjR4

 

Mocha diffusion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JomMWlSdVsU

 

I can spend a long time surfing pottery videos on Youtube...these were nice enough to keep in my browser folder.

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In my studio there is a tile board showing all the double dipping combinations of the 14 class glazes, so 196 tiles. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the glazes, however glazes don't necessarily have the same impact on a pot as they do on a 3" tall tile. So there is still a little testing required. I also give specific instructions about how to dip:

 

1. Make sure the glaze is stirred well. That means getting all the thick gunk off the bottom of the bucket and stirring until it goes creamy. Poor stirring is one of the most common causes of bad glaze application.

 

2. The first dip of glaze should be done for a count of 6. That's 6 seconds, not 6-Mississippi or 6-hippopotamus. It's long enough for a good coat of glaze, but short enough that the glaze won't run off the pot.

 

3. The second dip should be a 4 count, and must be at least 1 inch off the bottom of the pot to give it room to run. Again, long enough that it'll look good, not so long that it'll run off the pot.

 

4. Don't touch it! Beginners always get the fingers in the wet glaze. It ruins the glaze job, and it's a constant battle to get them to stop. When it comes to dipping, the less you touch it, the better.

 

There's lot of other little suggestions I make, but these 4 cover the important stuff.

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Ron I have found test tiles are but step one. it gives you basic info. good info but not the whole answer.  how it does on texture. but you need more esp with combos. AFTER test tiles i have found making small bowls and cylinders give a more 'truer' picture (or forms you make the most). there are so many variations. a tall bowl makes a difference than a wide bowl. i wish i could tell which glazes will be more apt to change. but right now my time is focused on throwing and i am not spending too much time with glazing. just jotting down my thoughts and questions when i am ready to experiment with glazes. 

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+1 to everything above, especially the bits about test tiles not being like real pots.

 

Test pots, tiny mugs, bud vases need to be the next step after test tiles.  Or make test tiles that have both horizontal and vertical surfaces, and texture.  But hey, why not make something useful, in case you get a stunner.

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arrggg, I only had 1 "like" to use today, totally agree Preeta and Chilly. 

My usual progression is test tiles, if it looks okay I run a crazing test. If it survives I use pinched slab test tubes, craze test again and if I'm concerned about shivering I use those to do that test. Then small pot, like the mini jug, then real pot like the bowl. (this set of tests is one I'm doing now for a low expansion clay and glaze, I'm thinking of doing a country farmhouse line of pots)

post-747-0-59197100-1488300432_thumb.jpg

 

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  • 3 months later...

I have a question hopefully someone can help,

 

are there any commercially available/produced glazes that do well for a woodfire?

I am attempting a Wood Salt Fire next month, and I am looking for an easy way to get lots of different results without having to purchase a bunch of large quantities of items in order make different recipes?

 

or does anyone have any recipes they would like to share that use common items but get different results?

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kat, where is the wood/salt firing going to be?  it sounds as though someone else is in charge and if so, that is who you should be talking to.

 

if you are going to do this alone, i suggest you ask an experienced potter to help all the way through from beginning to end.

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  • 1 month later...

I need some advice and knowledge please!

 

I'm a total newbie and will be pit-firing my pots.

 

How does one pit-fire a glaze? Do you paint on the glaze and let it dry? Then pit-fire as before to turn the clay to pottery?

 

I imagine the glaze must dry otherwise you wouldn't be able to pit-fire it...

 

HELP PLEASE!

 

Many thanks in advance :)

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Usually pit fired pottery is not glazed. Different colors are made by use of metal salts sprayed or dusted on the pot as it is put in the pit. There are lots of you-tube stuff on pit firing. It is tricky for a new comer. Many people bisque their pots before a pit fire. That way there is less chance of  blowing them up.

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In my studio there is a tile board showing all the double dipping combinations of the 14 class glazes, so 196 tiles. It takes a lot of the guesswork out of the glazes, however glazes don't necessarily have the same impact on a pot as they do on a 3" tall tile. So there is still a little testing required. I also give specific instructions about how to dip:

 

1. Make sure the glaze is stirred well. That means getting all the thick gunk off the bottom of the bucket and stirring until it goes creamy. Poor stirring is one of the most common causes of bad glaze application.

 

2. The first dip of glaze should be done for a count of 6. That's 6 seconds, not 6-Mississippi or 6-hippopotamus. It's long enough for a good coat of glaze, but short enough that the glaze won't run off the pot.

 

3. The second dip should be a 4 count, and must be at least 1 inch off the bottom of the pot to give it room to run. Again, long enough that it'll look good, not so long that it'll run off the pot.

 

4. Don't touch it! Beginners always get the fingers in the wet glaze. It ruins the glaze job, and it's a constant battle to get them to stop. When it comes to dipping, the less you touch it, the better.

 

There's lot of other little suggestions I make, but these 4 cover the important stuff.

My standing rule in the studio for the HS was if it is not yours do not touch it! All too often others do not know how to pick something up with enough care not to break or ruin it. 

 

 

best,

Pres

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