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super dark clay body and glazes


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I was mentioning to Niel that I got a box of A.R.T's Ultra Brownstone - It looks even darker than the pictures indicate after being fired. Literally like chocolate. Anyways I have fallen in love with the feel of this clay body. I saw a sample at the shop that had pink chiffon glaze over that dark and it looked like a burny dark green brown. It's intimidating to think of glaze and how it will react over such a strong clay body. Can anyone point me in the direction of potters who use a super dark clay so I can catch some inspiration?

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I was mentioning to Niel that I got a box of A.R.T's Ultra Brownstone - It looks even darker than the pictures indicate after being fired. Literally like chocolate. Anyways I have fallen in love with the feel of this clay body. I saw a sample at the shop that had pink chiffon glaze over that dark and it looked like a burny dark green brown. It's intimidating to think of glaze and how it will react over such a strong clay body. Can anyone point me in the direction of potters who use a super dark clay so I can catch some inspiration?

 

 

ack- I called them and It sounds like only a handful of people use this clay body because it is New - it just came out less than a year ago.

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If you like the feel of this clay, chances are others will too so you might want to leave clay exposed on outer surfaces or find glazes that break and let the clay show through. There are some nice 'oatmeal' glazes that work well with dark clays but often these clays look best when allowed to take center stage. Just an opinion however!

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I loves me some dark clay. (Studio owner not so much)

 

I use standard 266 a lot. It is dark but not black. Looks somewhat similar from what I can tell from on line image.

 

I don t see a lot of people using dark clay, I am also interested in seeing others work in dark clay.

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No pictures yet, but I've got a piece in the kiln now out of Laguna's Electric Brown (nice n chocolatey!) where I textured the surface with a stone and then hit it with red iron oxide after bisquing... I've done it in the past and it comes out a lot of fun!

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would any of you be able to share some pictures of your dark clay pieces for inspiration? :)/>/>/>/>/>

 

 

Here you go

 

5 inch, eastern inspired small plate,dish, hand formed, standard 266 clay with added grog, black and white slip transfer, zen influenced enso design, under a clear glaze, fired cone 6 ox.

The dark clay excels when it has a voice in the design.

 

Second image

 

11 x 4.5 inch stretched plate. With a transparent green glaze, oribe inspired, The dark clay acts as earthy palette for the glaze, and there is interesting color transitions from dark green , to transparent green, earthy browns and reds, to pools of black.

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Here are some pieces I made with standard 266. I use a glaze called "Cream breaking red" and fire to cone 5. I will post the glaze recipe when I find it (I left my glaze notebook at school where I teach)....I apply the glaze quite thinly to get more of the clay color showing through...I would love to find a creamy white that shows up on this clay, but I can't imagine there is one that would work...

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Guest JBaymore

Among a number of others, I use a very dark body (Sheffield Pottery #42 which contains a lot of Lizella and the local Sheffield earthenware slip clay) to which I add in NH granite dust/chunks. It is reated cone 8 oxidation... I fire to to cone 10-14 woodfire reduction.......but only for smaller forms... large ones don't like all the heat and reduction. Often with a nuka (rice husk ash) glaze and then sometimes overglaze enamels.

 

Tea Caddy and Yunomi

 

best,

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

PS... running out of image upload quota.

 

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Among a number of others, I use a very dark body (Sheffield Pottery #42 which contains a lot of Lizella and the local Sheffield earthenware slip clay) to which I add in NH granite dust/chunks. It is reated cone 8 oxidation... I fire to to cone 10-14 woodfire reduction.......but only for smaller forms... large ones don't like all the heat and reduction. Often with a nuka (rice husk ash) glaze and then sometimes overglaze enamels.

 

Tea Caddy and Yunomi

 

best,

 

 

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

 

 

PS... running out of image upload quota.

 

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post-1543-13651080471_thumb.jpg

 

 

Nice! I especially like the yunomi. And to think a little of my home town is in those pots. Lizella is dug way back in the swamp on Echoconnee Creek where I grew up swimming with water moccassins and sleeping on sandbars in the middle of the creek eating robins and eels. What is the lid to the tea caddy?

 

Jim

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I'm a pretty new, young potter (one extensive year in). First time poster but have been reading the forums for the past few months. This bowl is glazed with one of the studio's house glazes overlapping in the middle the Fall's Creek Shino glaze (Recipe) on Standard's 266 clay body.

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Guest JBaymore
What is the lid to the tea caddy?

 

Thanks for the positive feedback, Jim.

 

The lids for my darker clay chaire are usually unglazed porcelain. On the porcelain chaire, they are the dark Lizella based body. Occasionally I use (fossil) ivory.

 

best,

 

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

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I use mostly cone 5 Nara Porcelain, but sometimes I use Cassius Basaltic from Aardvark Clay in Santa Ana, CA. It is a very nice and smooth clay wonderful for throwing. The glaze is Pink Ice from Laguna Clay Co, City of Industry, CA

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Among a number of others, I use a very dark body (Sheffield Pottery #42 which contains a lot of Lizella and the local Sheffield earthenware slip clay) to which I add in NH granite dust/chunks. It is reated cone 8 oxidation... I fire to to cone 10-14 woodfire reduction.......but only for smaller forms... large ones don't like all the heat and reduction. Often with a nuka (rice husk ash) glaze and then sometimes overglaze enamels.

 

Tea Caddy and Yunomi

 

best,

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

PS... running out of image upload quota.

 

post-1543-136510802422_thumb.jpg

 

post-1543-13651080471_thumb.jpg

 

 

Is the glaze on the top half of the Tea Caddy ash from the firing or an applied glaze?

 

Jim

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Guest JBaymore

Is the glaze on the top half of the Tea Caddy ash from the firing or an applied glaze?

 

Jim,

 

A combination of fine flyash (fired in a location in the noborigama well away from the firebox) as well as my applied Oribe glaze. The clay body below that is all "fumed" from the volatiles coming from the wood ash in the general chamber environment (no salt or soda added).

 

best,

 

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

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You might want to check out Stone Mountain Clay out of Georgia. They have a black clay "onyx Krunch" Stoneware cone 6.

Just saw a glazed piece today and it was black.

 

I have used 266 with nice results but not as dark as the onyx crunch...

 

I agree with one of the earlier posts, slips might be the ticket when working with

these clay bodies of this color.

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would any of you be able to share some pictures of your dark clay pieces for inspiration? smile.gif

 

 

Cant imagine its much of an inspiration, but 80% or so of what I make is of electric brown, non glazed

 

 

Bonsai,

 

big d

 

 

And thank you for providing me with my pottery porn for the day!! DROOLING over your collection!

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Among a number of others, I use a very dark body (Sheffield Pottery #42 which contains a lot of Lizella and the local Sheffield earthenware slip clay) to which I add in NH granite dust/chunks. It is reated cone 8 oxidation... I fire to to cone 10-14 woodfire reduction.......but only for smaller forms... large ones don't like all the heat and reduction. Often with a nuka (rice husk ash) glaze and then sometimes overglaze enamels.

 

Tea Caddy and Yunomi

 

best,

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

PS... running out of image upload quota.

 

post-1543-136510802422_thumb.jpg

 

post-1543-13651080471_thumb.jpg

 

 

Gorgeous!!

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And thank you for providing me with my pottery porn for the day!! DROOLING over your collection!

 

Thanks Rebby, your post made me happy

 

Good because i meant it!

 

In the center of your pic- is that dark clay with white glaze or slip over it? I have been thinking about using a thick light colored glaze that will break through and expose the dark clay.

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Here are some pieces I made with standard 266. I use a glaze called "Cream breaking red" and fire to cone 5. I will post the glaze recipe when I find it (I left my glaze notebook at school where I teach)....I apply the glaze quite thinly to get more of the clay color showing through...I would love to find a creamy white that shows up on this clay, but I can't imagine there is one that would work...

 

 

Hi...Oatmeal from amaco works really well over 266. Nice and creamy.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I experimented with coyote alabaster satin over this dark clay body. I ended up with some pinholes and I think it is a bit too thick. I wanted the clay color to come through a bit more. But it's nice to note what happens and learn from it. (remember I have been throwing for less than a year so they are not professional looking yet)

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