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Would You Sell Pottery That Has A Tiny Crack In The Glaze In A Few Places?


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If it isn't something that you expected to happen, then do you know what will happen further when the pot leaves your hands? Are you ok with that randomness happening in your work with your name on it, sold to your paying customers? Will they be happy with the durability? Can you promise this is a good product at this time? Would you want to buy something that the maker was unsure of what was happening?

 

Those are questions you should answer about yourself and your work.

 

Personally I won't sell anything that I am not confident in. 

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For functional work I wouldn’t sell pots without testing the glazes for fit. (and other things) If this is crazing, it’s only going to get worse with time and use of the pots. Crazing is one thing on a tight vitrified porcelain body but quite another on a more open body like most stoneware and low fire clay. There is also a hygiene issue for non vitrified work with crazed glazes. If your work is non functional then no worries. Like Doris said it would be really helpful if you posted a picture.

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I would be seriously weighing the legalities myself. Scenario: crazing will get worse as the piece is subjected to hot liquids and the dishwasher. That is proven knowledge in the pottery world. So those cracks could easily end up being shards in the bottom of someone''s coffee. When they swallow that shard in the last sip before work: the odds of you losing your home in a lawsuit goes up exponentially. Extreme example? Yes indeed. Plausible scenario: yes indeed.

Nerd

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I made pots for tests for a glaze a woman wants for 12 large cups with a specific glaze. I found a recipe and now I'll have to do a lot of testing on it. 

Her original example had serious crazing on the interior of the mugs. I explained that was a glaze defect and not a healthy one. My clear is good with my regular porcelain but must test on the bray porcelain. Worth the peace of mind.

 

Marcia

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Ask yourself these two questions.

 

1) Is it your best work.

 

and more important

 

2) If you happen upon these pieces at another potter's table and noticed the defects, would you buy them or walk away.

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I agree with everything said.

I always ask myself these things...

Would I buy this myself if I saw it somewhere?

Would I want my Mother using these things?

Do I feel confident in the thought that it is safe for a child to use. (Being breakable does not count as unsafe, since a pottery can break but everything else qualifies)

 

If I don't like my own answers to these questions I don't sell the pieces.

 

You have to decide at what level you feel comfortable with. I highly recommend insurance to protect yourself.

 

T

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bluecreek, you have several questions up and they may be related.  if you are asking about selling the white speckled thing with something stuck in the glaze, i would sell that item if it is decorative only but with my name crossed out with a permanent marker and a note that it has a flaw and pointing it out.  naturally, it would be several dollars less than a perfect one.  this is for something significant in importance to you and the buyer, not just a sponge holder or something of little value.  those should be used as dog bowls, glaze tests or examples of why you sieve glaze.

 

HOWEVER, if you really are talking about a true crack, then NO.

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If the pot with the impurity is to be sold, I would consider grinding and refiring.

 

I believe that there comes a time in life when a pot sold with a crack, or imperfection comes back to haunt you some way or another. Is it just me, no, I don't think so, I have talked to lots of potters that believe the same. Have I been haunted, yes. I observe over the years that the growth of a crafter can not move forward unless at some point they make the conscious, or unconscious decision to be selective and honest with themselves about their work. Some end up giving up because that honesty is difficult or because they are not willing to put in the time to move forward. Others continue to make, but only for themselves and family/friends, and yet become much more than they ever were when they were trying to sell. These folks, if they decided to go back into the market at a later stage in their life would find the process enlightening.

 

 

best,

Pres

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  • 3 weeks later...

Recently had a bad batch of glaze that left sharp chunks inside a batch of cups. A few had cracks as well. I simply drilled a drainage hole with a masonry bit and will be planting succulents to sell later. No point in tossing perfectly good planters!

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Neil,

In some places crazed glaze on restaurant ware is labeled unsafe by health inspectors.. At least somewhere, someone posted that.  It holds bacteria in those cracks and the cracks become discolored. It is thought to be a flaw by people like John Hesselberth and Ron Roy. 

I agree that craze can be a beautiful glaze, snow flake crazing. For interiors of functional pots, I'd recommend not using it.

 

Marcia

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Back in the day in glaze and clay body collage class I learned that not all crazing is a flaw-that is it relives tension so the glaze will not pop off the body in many cases. If its say on the outside of wares where food is not an issue than it may not be an issue.

This is a one size does not fit answer-it all depends on where on the form this crazing is? what is the form and whats the use of said form .

If its on the outside of a flowerpot-well it should be fine .

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This whole crazing thing cracks me up. I ate off crazed commercial plates my entire life. Why would bacteria only sit in cracks and not on the surface of a plate. If you don't wash your dishes then yes I suppose eventually bacteria will grow. But I mean it's gonna grow all over the surface not just in the cracks.

From a logical standpoint I don't see how bacteria in cracks survives any more than bacteria on a surface if your washing your pots. And if your not washing them then I don't think it's gonna matter if it's crazed or not. It's gonna have bacteria on/in it. Of course I am assuming your clay is vitrified, and your actually trying to achieve crazing.

Does anyone have proof of this bacteria thing? Cause I looked for evidence in scientific papers and found nothing stating that cracked surfaces even when washed still grow bacteria.

No offense to people who know way more than me, feel free to correct me if I am way off, which I might be.

The only thing I assume crazing does is weaken the end products durable slightly. But even then if you drop a pot it's gonna break crazed or not. 

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This whole crazing thing cracks me up. I ate off crazed commercial plates my entire life. Why would bacteria only sit in cracks and not on the surface of a plate. If you don't wash your dishes then yes I suppose eventually bacteria will grow. But I mean it's gonna grow all over the surface not just in the cracks.

 

Look up Sister Noella, also known as the Cheese Nun who produces cheese to support her abbey in Connecticut.

 

She has a PHD in microbiology, fought the FDA and won to allow her to use wooden vats in the process of cheesemaking instead of stainless steel vats. Her thesis proved that the bacteria and fungi living in the wood was safer for consumption than the stainless steel vats that was prone to create E. Coli.

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The crazing in this image is not readily seen by the naked eye. In fact, I had to take the piece out into the sunlight and spin it: to see them.

 

Crazing 200X

Crazing 200X

 

 

Thought I would throw this into the conversation.

 

Check Graing

 
These are visible.
 
Nerd
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I've had commercial dinner plates throughout my life that have crazed over the years, and have never had issues with using them. The cracks can discolor over time as they become stained by certain foods, but I seriously doubt that they would be able to harbor enough bacteria to cause a problem, especially after running them through the dishwasher. If we can used crazed, discolored teabowls that are hundreds of years old, and use unglazed terra cotta bakers to cook chickens, I think we're safe with some crazing on vitrified clay bodies. Every pot I make has at least two layered glazes, often 3, 4, or 5, so crazing is going to happen. I've used these pots myself for years, and sold thousands of them. The glaze has never come lose, and I've never gotten sick from them.

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Neil, I know. I have some myself. But years back on Clayart, this topic did come up and someone said a health inspector at a restaurant had issues with crazed dinnerware.Our culture has become very sanitized. And crazed ware has been criticized. I avoid using crazed glazes. Just one less liability to worry about. From digitalfire  and John Baymore who says US restaurants standards say crazing is bad but it is a very high standard. Digitalfire knows there is some concern but can't say its proven to be bad.So, chose for yourself.

 

 

https://digitalfire.com/4sight/education/crazing_and_bacteria_is_there_a_hazard_271.html

http://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/4072-crazing-always-bad/

 

My recommendation would be don't use it to do a restaurant commission.

 

Marcia

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