Shinos

[Marcia Selsor]

I am reading John Britt's latest writing on Shinos. Extremely well written and well explained. I am preparing for a wood firing opportunity and am looking at some possibilities. We have to glaze our work before we arrive. I am getting a great understanding of how shines have developed over the last 40 years. Our master, John Baymore has an awesome tea bowl with an unbelievable Shino crawl glaze. So, I am reading and considering how to adapt to wood firing by cutting back on the spar. Great reading for a snowy night.

John Britts 53 page dvd is called Golden Shino. Wonderful examples presented and history of people's glaze development from old friends like Malcom Davis and Frank Boyden. Just enjoying the read.

 

Marcia

[Marcia Selsor]

This topic should be shinos not shines. -autocorrent.

Sorry. I asked John to fix it please.

[Joseph Fireborn]

For those of you who haven't seen John Britt's gold shino experiments, which I assume is what Marcia is talking about, here is the video as a teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qzjxdGpACY. 

 

He also has a paper on it. I am not sure what the rules are on linking something that cost money so I will just say you can find it on his website under the shop. It is called Gold Shino. I haven't read the paper, but the pots he shows in the video are pretty amazing. I some day want to be a part of a wood firing, just to have a yunomi glazed in a beautiful wood fired shino. 

[Guest]

How is John Britt's book The Complete Guide to Mid-range Glazes?

[Dick White]

Both of John's books (high-fire and mid-fire) are excellent. Both are arranged similarly, with a lot of general information on materials and firing, followed by many many many recipes and pictures of test tiles organized by color or type of glaze.

[glazenerd]

Marcia:

 

I will be interested to see what clay/s you use in this recipe. Shino typically has 20-30% clay/s in the recipe: to me this will make or break the outcome. I would advise NZK in this case: that much clay with high impurities will certainly effect appearance.

 

Nerd

[Marcia Selsor]

I'll need to be on the heavy side for clays. Also thinking of using burnt umber wash as a source for iron. I have some barnard here also. So far, in what I have read in the Golden Shino 53 page article pdf.

Wirt experiments splitting the clays and the feldspars and adding a dash of soda ash sound intriguing. because this is for ^12 and a wood firing, using a more matt with higher clay content version of the base seems necessary. I also have Crocus martis and 3 types of red iron, some black iron, some Apache clay remains from terra sig. Can't experiment too wildly because it isn't my kiln. Must proceed carefully.Very excited. Good Spring project.On top of preparing for a show and demo in Nye when a friend' s seasonal gallery opens. I am in heaven being here. And I have a clay supplier in town. Have visited 3 times so far. Mixed clay on a nice day wheeling my Soldner mixer into the sunshine. Warming up again this week.

My little chem lab:

 

Marcia

[Marcia Selsor]

RonSa,

John Britt,s High fire Stoneware and Midrange books are both excellent. He is also very well prepared in his blogs and you tube clips. And he's a friend. Really enjoy his input into my thoughts.

Marcia

[Joseph Fireborn]

I have the midfire book. It is excellent to read and for recipes both. 

[Guest]

Thanks Dick, Marcia and Marcia

[Guest JBaymore]

Marcia,

 

Someone else beat me to fixing the "shinos" typo.

 

Thanks for the kind words in the post there.   

 

I personally like to make the clear distinction between "American Shino" and "Japanese Shino".  The "look" of what most Americans (and many westerners) think of as "Shino" is quite different from the Japanese antecedent.  In workshops and class I've often pulled out a real Japanese Shino piece... and people have not recognized it as Shino.  American Shinos are certainly gorgeous... but they are VERY different from old Japanese and most contemporary Japanese Shinos..

 

If you want a more Japanese type look .... stay away from iron, keep the clay content VERY low, and use mainly feldspars and feldspathic type rocks like Nepheline Syenite.. No spodumene (or any lithium bearing material).  Little to no soda ash. 

 

The recipes I have been given by a few Japanese Shino ware potters are basically this:

 

THE specific feldspathic rock    between 90 and 95%

A Japanese kaolin        between 5 and 10%

 

That is it.

 

For a suspender and binder they use seaweed that has been boiled in water until it basically dissolves.  This adds TRACE of salt (from the seaweed) to the water (additional source of Na+ ions), and helps keep the glaze, which is basically one milled rock, on the pieces.

 

The rock is stamper milled.  This gives tiny rock "flakes" that tend to sinter at the edges long before real melting takes place.  This too helps keep the glaze on the piece in the firing.  Firings are LON G..... days long on the heating cycle.  Cooling is long also.  And the end point temperature is low compared to our fast up to cone approach.

 

For the Japanese look, the clay BODY is as important as the glaze recipe.  Make up a "bad" white stoneware.   One that does not vitrify at the cone you are firing.  Put in a bunch of fine silica sand and maybe also some molochite grog.  Pick large grained materials for the clays.   NO ball clay.  Tiny, tiny amount of iron.

 

For the wood firing you are doing, if you are looking for a more Japanese type look.... put them in the back of the kiln and well away from the sidestokes (if it is an anagama-type kiln).  In an open saggar even.

 

Have fun.

 

best,

 

......................john
 

[Guest JBaymore]

 I some day want to be a part of a wood firing, just to have a yunomi glazed in a beautiful wood fired shino. 

 

Save you pennies.  In the summer a couple of summers from now we are bringing in a major Japanese woodfiring artist and a major American woodfiring artist to do a two week-ish combined workshop and firing of our college's anagama.  (New Hampshire Institute of Art) It will involve bringing bisque ware, loading and firing, and then during the cooling a series of demo/making workshops sessions... and of course the unloading of the fired work of the participants. 

 

I can't say the artist's names just yet... because we want to keep that under wraps for a while yet.  But you will absolutely recognize the names.  (The artists are already booked.)

 

Details when we can release them will get posted in the "Events" section here... and at the college's website (NHIA.edu).

 

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in wood firings these days. 

 

best,

 

......................john

[Joseph Fireborn]

 

 I some day want to be a part of a wood firing, just to have a yunomi glazed in a beautiful wood fired shino. 

 

Save you pennies.  In the summer a couple of summers from now we are bringing in a major Japanese woodfiring artist and a major American woodfiring artist to do a two week-ish combined workshop and firing of our college's anagama.  (New Hampshire Institute of Art) It will involve bringing bisque ware, loading and firing, and then during the cooling a series of demo/making workshops sessions... and of course the unloading of the fired work of the participants. 

 

I can't say the artist's names just yet... because we want to keep that under wraps for a while yet.  But you will absolutely recognize the names.  (The artists are already booked.)

 

Details when we can release them will get posted in the "Events" section here... and at the college's website (NHIA.edu).

 

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in wood firings these days. 

 

best,

 

......................john

 

 

Yum Yum. A few summers from now would be pretty good, but NH is a long way from GA. But who knows. Maybe I will be ready by then for it. I will stay tuned!

[glazenerd]

Marcia:

 

If you want iron to achieve a certain look, and higher clay content for temps ^12: perhaps look at adding high iron clay.s: kill two birds with one stone. John pointed out the need for silica: ball clay/s are higher in silica, some have very high iron: and tend to be more refractory. Might be easier to formulate using a single high iron clay to accomplish several goals.

 

Nerd

[Marcia Selsor]

Marcia,

 

Someone else beat me to fixing the "shinos" typo.

 

Thanks for the kind words in the post there.   

 

I personally like to make the clear distinction between "American Shino" and "Japanese Shino".  The "look" of what most Americans (and many westerners) think of as "Shino" is quite different from the Japanese antecedent.  In workshops and class I've often pulled out a real Japanese Shino piece... and people have not recognized it as Shino.  American Shinos are certainly gorgeous... but they are VERY different from old Japanese and most contemporary Japanese Shinos..

 

If you want a more Japanese type look .... stay away from iron, keep the clay content VERY low, and use mainly feldspars and feldspathic type rocks like Nepheline Syenite.. No spodumene (or any lithium bearing material).  Little to no soda ash. 

 

The recipes I have been given by a few Japanese Shino ware potters are basically this:

 

THE specific feldspathic rock    between 90 and 95%

A Japanese kaolin        between 5 and 10%

 

That is it.

 

For a suspender and binder they use seaweed that has been boiled in water until it basically dissolves.  This adds TRACE of salt (from the seaweed) to the water (additional source of Na+ ions), and helps keep the glaze, which is basically one milled rock, on the pieces.

 

The rock is stamper milled.  This gives tiny rock "flakes" that tend to sinter at the edges long before real melting takes place.  This too helps keep the glaze on the piece in the firing.  Firings are LON G..... days long on the heating cycle.  Cooling is long also.  And the end point temperature is low compared to our fast up to cone approach.

 

For the Japanese look, the clay BODY is as important as the glaze recipe.  Make up a "bad" white stoneware.   One that does not vitrify at the cone you are firing.  Put in a bunch of fine silica sand and maybe also some molochite grog.  Pick large grained materials for the clays.   NO ball clay.  Tiny, tiny amount of iron.

 

For the wood firing you are doing, if you are looking for a more Japanese type look.... put them in the back of the kiln and well away from the sidestokes (if it is an anagama-type kiln).  In an open saggar even.

 

Have fun.

 

best,

 

......................john

Thanks John. It is a train kiln. I love your Shino crawl glazes. But I will stick with American Shino mostly. Thanks for the tips. I may try it. I wish I had brough seaweed to Montana. I may get down to the gulf before the firing. I have some fine silica sand and 50 mesh and molochite.

 

Marcia

[Guest JBaymore]

 

I wish I had brough seaweed to Montana. I may get down to the gulf before the firing.

 

Do you have a Japanese grocery store near you?  For a small amount of glaze..... maybe buy some Kombu (type of seaweed...........usually NOT washed of sea salt when packaged) and use that to make the binder syrup. Boil the living crap out of it until is turns to a mushy pulp and mix that up and use like a gum solution.

 

best,

 

..................john

[oldlady]

marcia, there is an oriental SUPERMARKET about ten blocks away.  if you want some of what john is suggesting, i can mail it to you.  pm me.

[neilestrick]

You could also mix up a thick solution of CMC gum and VeeGumT. And a touch of salt.

[Marcia Selsor]

plan on gathering Gulf coast shells that are thick and healthy for wood firing. Lars is happy to have them. Plus get a trash bag of my favorite seaweed when I fly down to Brownsville for a fast survey of what still needs to be moved, meet the realtor, and stage the house ( between NCECA March 20-27and the wood firing April 11-17)

20 miles to the coast and where the new Space X launch pad is being built.

There are no oriental grocery stores in Red Lodge, pop. 2700. There are some are upscale grocery stores in the big city, Billings pop. 158,000 (it was 45,000 when I started teaching here in 1975). I have an appt. with a former student and my accountant for 40 years on Wed. to do our taxes in Billings. Getting excited about the firing. I have some stoneware clay to make a few saggars as John suggested. We'll see what happens.

More into experimenting with Shinos from both worlds. John has piqued my curiosity.

Also Matt Friske is here in town and he is an experimenter too with locally mined minerals.

Marcia

[alexanderwilds]

I am in Japan, teaching traditional Japanese ceramics.  More accurately, I am learning about them all the time and passing off my new knowledge as old wisdom.  I see a lot of great shino glazes, and ask how they are done.  Here is what the folks around here say:

 

1.  straight feldspar, with a binding goop ("nori") of wakame seaweed (and thus the salt) to help stick it to the pot.  However, many just use  a rice based "nori" that comes in a tube for gluing paper.

2.  Iron rich clay.   It is not a red, terra cotta sort of clay, rather, a a rough yellow stoneware clay, probably with trace cadmium as well.

3.  a ten day firing - five up and five down - to 1230 degrees celsius (cone 6).  Although 90% of kilns around here are fired with kerosene, the shino folks use gas, presumably because it is easy to maintain the slow firing rate and atmosphere.   I would hate to see the bills.

 

Just getting a white shino like the sugar glaze on a Krispy Kreme doughnut can be pretty quick - a day or so at most.  But for the rich, red/orange variations to happen, well, it takes days for the iron and other minerals in the clay body to migrate to the surface and blossom, thus the long firing schedule.

 

Alex Wilds  Kofu, Japan

[Wyndham]

This is just a FYI. Star Ceramic supply in Star NC has a native high fire red clay called "East Fork", a clay mostly composed of a Catawba clay from upper NC clay used for generations for folk potters of the area. It burns dark brown in reduction, sandy and throws very well. It might be something worth looking into.

[alexanderwilds]

I spent some time today with some Japanese potters who focus on shino in their work, checking on the above comments from yesterday, and have corrections and further info regarding Japanese Shino glazes.

 

1.  Glaze is mostly, like 95%+, feldspar, usually "Kamado" feldspar, a sort that melts to a viscous, semi-opaque, milky white.  Some clay is added, either kaolin, diatomacious earth, porcelain, or clay from the body of the vessel, as explained further below.  I add that the Japanese potters got into a serious debate regarding what they liked to add and how much, but it obviously is a matter of experimentation and desired effect.

 

2.  The idea is to match the melting point of the glaze to the firing temperature, so that the Shino glaze just barely melts, maybe  (thus the 10-day-long firing schedule).   The more clay you add, the higher the melting point, the more matt the surface, and, due to the increased shrinkage, the more cracks in the glaze.  The more clay you add, the sharper the edges of the cracks.

 

3.  To promote pinholes, the surface of the green ware is scraped while leather hard, roughening the surface.  This gives a solid mechanical bond to the glaze, and promotes the release of gases from the clay through the glaze, leading to pinholes and blossoms of colors from the clay body.

 

4.   To promoting crackling the surface, and to keep the glaze white,  the green ware is burnished,  allowing the glaze to slip, and maybe fall off, the surface.

 

Obviously, these glaze "flaws"  are what the Japanese potters are after - a feature rather than a bug.   I hope that helps.   Alex Wilds