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Need advice on glazing for this piece.


steadystate

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I'm pretty much a beginner, just a few months under my belt.  I just made this piece, which took awhile, and I'd surely like to not screw up the glaze.  Ideally, I would like it to be matte white with light blue to accent the texture.  Could I consider two glaze firings, first for the white, then another for a wiped-back stain? (blue).  Any suggestions are very welcome.  --Jeff

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Welcome to the forum Jeff. I would strongly suggest making a few small test pieces to try out your glaze/wash on before committing your finished piece to glazing. Just some quick mockups with the same clay. I think many of us have regretted not trying a new glaze / technique out on a test piece first. 

To get a blue wash on top of a white glaze the easiest might be to glaze fire it with the white matte then use a blue underglaze brushed on and wiped partially off. To lessen the chance of the piece cracking or bloating during the second fire I would try firing (do a test piece) to a lower cone than what the glaze firing went to for the underglaze wash. Another method you could try is to use a cobalt wash or underglaze under the white glaze. Since cobalt is a strong colourant it could give you a dark enough blue showing through the white glaze. An underglaze would probably be easier to use than a cobalt wash. Again, would have to test it out first to see if you like the results.

I can't really tell what size the piece is. If it is a large piece then firing it on 1/4" coils will lessen the drag of it on the kiln shelf and help to avoid problems. Or, you could fire it on a waster thin slab of clay, the same clay as the piece is made from. Dry the waster between ware boards so it dries nice and flat then sit the piece on that while firing, the waster will shrink at the same rate as the piece. Also, if it's big it might mean a slower second firing through the crucial temperature zones would be necessary.

What kind of clay are you using? Are you using commercial glazes or making your own? (if it's a high magnesium matte glaze then the blue underglaze might lean towards a purple blue)

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Not two glaze firings.

Important piece! Make a miniature or a test tile.

Cobalt is a strong colourant. But expensjve. Could brush solution  on bisqued pot where you want it. Wipe off if necessary then glaze pot with matt white. The blue will come through the white in a softer colour.

Do the test piece or tile to see how ot comes out. Try with various strengths of cobalt: water

Matte glaze the cobalt wont move much so will sit where put. Can soften blue by  mixing with a bit of iron.

Think with matte glaze it'd look better coming through the glaaze from ubderneath.

Test tile the way to go. Make notes of what you did.

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Thank you for your advice.  The piece is about 8 inches tall.  Making some test pieces is a great idea but requires a lot of patience, since I rely on the school's kiln schedule, which moves pretty slowly.  I'd be interested to learn of particular manufacturers and stain/glaze choices that might work well for this piece.

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If your piece will be bisque fired before glaze fire, perhaps you can have some lil' test tiles bisqued at same time as your piece? From there, try several glaze options on the test tiles (hence, your piece skips one glaze cycle). 

The test tiles can be simple, try capturing the essence - just one or two "steps" of about the same thickness and add a base to capture any runoff. Just this much would give you an'idea

 

just that.JPG

Can you identify the clay? What brand, which one? What's it fired to (temp or cone)?

I read "patience" as having to do with creating the tests - on re-read, it has to do with firing schedule, yes? My bad.

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