a simple cone 6 transparent glaze that takes color well

[oldlady]

been trying to take pictures to sell my house so don't remember who was looking for something like this. wish someone with lots of photo posting experience could visit me. ANYWAY the recipe is

 

Mike's clear (no idea who mike is) cone 6, shiny transparent no dangerous ingredients glaze

 

 

gerstley borate..............................................60

 

ball clay (i use C&C for its whiteness).............20

 

silica 325.......................................................20

 

i have tested this with many mason stains at additions of 5% and 10%. my intentions were to find colors that would work with the base glaze. some do, some do not. i used 5% in the beginning but then found that i could test many with 2 1/2% and 5%. if it is going to work, these percentages will show it. my tests are currently with a single base of 100 grams. i then use my ohaus scale and weigh out 10 grams which is about a tablespoon of glaze, add .25 grams of stain, dip a test tile. another 10 grams with .5 grams of stain, dip a test tile. as you can see, i get a lot of tests from only 100 grams of base. sometimes when test tiles are scarce i have dipped one long side in the .25 and the other in the.5. there are now at least 48 of these tests on a string. i was looking for colors that would remain transparent and cover evenly the indented drawings i do with a stylus on slabs. finding that the base glaze works well was the first step. just found the note from the day i called Mason re which stains might work best. if you are looking for pink, the stain called Pink 6001 is best.

 

i use such a small amount in the recent tests because i hate waste and i am looking for compatability with the base glaze. i can tell immediately which ones i want to test further and which are not worth it. yes, all you really educated experts, i know that if i knew the chemistry i would not need to test this way. i am not interested in becoming educated in another field, life is too short and i have more clay to work with and more ideas than i could do in another lifetime. (and i still have to learn how to post these d$#%^mn photos!)

 

by the way, while taking one of the photos, i used an old (1991) tile i had made (using the simple 2 ingredient clay so despised by the experts) as a hanging on a plain wall. i stuck it up with some duct tape rolled behind it. took the picture, forgot to remove the tile and in the morning i found that it had fallen to the concrete floor. it was totally undamaged but there was a spot of hardened drywall patch on it where it gouged a spot on the wall near the floor when it bounced. it fell more than 5 feet. try that with YOUR clay no matter how many ingredients are in it!

 

correction because i just realized that some newbies might think the recipe is only for a pink glaze!

this recipe has been corrected to the correct color additive. thank you 123pop.

[Pugaboo]

Thank you Oldlady I wasn't looking for it but now that I read your post think I should add it to my fledgling glaze notebook. I too like to carve into clay and I have also been playing with Making UG transfers on to bone dry clay and am looking for translucent, transparent glazes so the stuff I do underneath will show through. I'm looking to come up with color combinations that contrast yet compliment each other. hmmm not sure thats understandable I'd like to do 1 color of underglaze and then find a different contrasting yet complimetary glaze to put on top of it instead of always having to use clear.

 

I too hate waste and try to squeeze as much out of everything as I can. You've been doing clay since at least 1991? Wow I'm impressed I'm such a baby still not even a year yet heck not even 6 months! So much to learn and people like you and this forum have helped me so much so thank you once again for sharing your knowledge.

 

Terry

[oldlady]

actually, i got my first wheel in 1971. it was called a Spinning Tiger and cost $69. i had to save a long time to buy it since i was also working full time and taking care of 2 small kids on what i thought was a great salary, about $75 a week. my first studio was in an apartment bedroom. it consisted of a wheel and a chair set on a large plastic tablecloth.

 

my main teachers were all the great books from the public library. Kenny was my favorite. since then i have attended as many workshops as i could afford. belonging to a guild is a godsend. the local community college has night classes. with the right teacher, you can really progress. always check out the work produced by the instructor to see if it is the kind of thing you would like to call your own.

 

there are many easy glazes that might suit you. my neighbor down the road is bill van gilder. his website has several glazes that were featured in his TV show and book. the one i like best is Rutile Green. i have tested the base with many, many colors and love it. it has the movement associated with rutile glazes and accepts colors well. the yellow is spectacular. find a copy of "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" if you can.

 

for the fist few years i was completely in love with the work of Charles Counts. i bought his book "Pottery Workshop" many years later after having it checked out at our library almost non-stop. what a surprise one saturday when i thought he had set up in the plaza in Reston, va where i lived. it was not him but an excellent apprentice of his whose work was superb. we became friends and she taught me a lot.

 

anyone new to throwing would benefit from having his book. it was published in 1973 and leads the reader from the simple to the complex. the work was done in a speckled buff clay, covered while damp with a slip coating and various designs carved into interesting patterns. the final glaze covering was usually a dry, matte, translucent white. i have used that glaze for years but found that i could not dip it without having to touch it up. it does NOT like touching up. now that i spray my glazes i find it ok.

 

there is another old book, Getting Into Pots by George and Nancy Wettlaufer. george is a ceramic engineer and has included many glazes and simple explanations of how to use them. you will laugh at the 1976 prices he lists for items to set up your studio but the basic info is great. george talked to me last year when i called him with a question about his recipe for a lovely white glaze.

 

there is a great deal of good basic info in some of the old books once you recognize which ingredients to avoid. some current books from the UK talk about lead as just another ingredient. i do not use barium or cadmium and some others. some of the experts here will surely have a comment on this.

 

you are just entering a wonderland. embrace it.

[Pugaboo]

I LOVE the library! So much knowledge just sitting there waiting for you. Books have always been my best friends... Probably understandable why my daughter became a librarian! When I moved here I was pleasantly surprised to find a great little library in this tiny town and its connected to all the libraries in Georgia so I can request whatever books I want and they show up at my library. In fact when I signed up for my first pottery class this year I went through and reserved a bunch of books thinking it would be like in the big city or worse and take months to get them to trickle in to my branch. Well about a week later I get a call from the librarian and she asks me if I could please come pick up my books... All 19 of them! They all showed up the same day and they didn't have room to keep them sitting there. The librarians and I have since become friends and I get the copies for my UG transfers done there and they always ask what I am currently working on. They even had someone give them a bunch of books on ceramics and they didn't have room for them so offered them to me which I thought was super nice of them to do. I need to take a few pieces up to show them since they have asked me to put together a display of my stuff when I have enough to do so.

 

I will see if I can get a copy of the books you mention from the library. I too have checked out the same books several times before deciding I just need to buck up and buy my own copy.

 

Oh and yes pottery IS a wonderland I feel like I did the first time I took a painting workshop years and years ago all those colors and textures were just sitting there waiting for me to know what to do with them. My only problem is I don't feel like I am learning fast enough there's so much I want to do and try but for now am having to keep my shapes fairly simple to have any success at all. The studio I have joined has a gallery where I can sell my stuff but I don't feel anywhere near ready for that. I am hoping maybe I will be ready for simple stuff like ornaments by the holidays but everyone else there has so much experience and talent it is very intimidating.

 

You are so lucky to have been able to do pottery for so long!

 

Terry

[123pop]

I LOVE the library! So much knowledge just sitting there waiting for you. Books have always been my best friends... Probably understandable why my daughter became a librarian! When I moved here I was pleasantly surprised to find a great little library in this tiny town and its connected to all the libraries in Georgia so I can request whatever books I want and they show up at my library. In fact when I signed up for my first pottery class this year I went through and reserved a bunch of books thinking it would be like in the big city or worse and take months to get them to trickle in to my branch. Well about a week later I get a call from the librarian and she asks me if I could please come pick up my books... All 19 of them! They all showed up the same day and they didn't have room to keep them sitting there. The librarians and I have since become friends and I get the copies for my UG transfers done there and they always ask what I am currently working on. They even had someone give them a bunch of books on ceramics and they didn't have room for them so offered them to me which I thought was super nice of them to do. I need to take a few pieces up to show them since they have asked me to put together a display of my stuff when I have enough to do so.

 

I will see if I can get a copy of the books you mention from the library. I too have checked out the same books several times before deciding I just need to buck up and buy my own copy.

 

Oh and yes pottery IS a wonderland I feel like I did the first time I took a painting workshop years and years ago all those colors and textures were just sitting there waiting for me to know what to do with them. My only problem is I don't feel like I am learning fast enough there's so much I want to do and try but for now am having to keep my shapes fairly simple to have any success at all. The studio I have joined has a gallery where I can sell my stuff but I don't feel anywhere near ready for that. I am hoping maybe I will be ready for simple stuff like ornaments by the holidays but everyone else there has so much experience and talent it is very intimidating.

 

You are so lucky to have been able to do pottery for so long!

 

Terry

 

[123pop]

I'm just another old lady just started dabbling in clay. I'm just starting to figure out the glaze testing and have a quick question. I like the way you are setting up your tests. I was using 100 gm batches of base and adding the colorants 1-5%..... 10gms sounds better not so much leftover sitting around. I had a lot of crazing on my tests and now have cups of glazes with no place to go.

 

You wrote " i then use my ohaus scale and weigh out 10 grams which is about a tablespoon of glaze, add 2 1/2 grams of stain, dip a test tile. another 10 grams with 5% grams of stain, dip a test tile. as you can see, i get a lot of tests from only 100 grams of base. sometimes when test tiles are scarce i have dipped one long side in the 2 1/2% and the other in the 5%. there are now at least 48 of these tests on a string"

 

But...If you have 10gms base and want to add 2.5% wouldn't that only be .25gm not 2 1/2 grams of stain??

 

Only pointing this out for newbies since i was doing tests and mixed up colorants for 1000gm bases instead of 100gms. Fortunately I liked those test samples and have 1000gms of some nice glazes.

 

Please correct me if I'm out of line here.

[Marcia Selsor]

I mentioned this method a while ago but so far back it isn't easy to find. Make 15 numbered test tiles, bisque them.

 

Take your base glaze, multiple by 2.5 and mix 250 grams. Add the proper amount of water.

Divide into 5 cups labeled A,B,C,D,E

Keep A the basic glaze or add a colorant. 2%= 1 gr. Add colorants to each cup remembering that 50 grams would require 1/2 of the number of the percentage, i.e. 5%= 2.5 grams. Sieve the mixes.

 

Line up the tiles and the cups.Using a teaspoon, take one tsp. of a cup and mix with a tsp of another cup in an empty cup. Apply to the numbered tile. Discad the glaze into a container. It is fun to see what the whole combination does in the end.

 

A, B,C,D,E goes straight onto 1,2,3,4,5

A+B, A+C,A+D, A+E ges on 6,7,8,9,

B+C, B+D, B+E goes on 10,11,12

C+D, C+E 13, 14

D+E 15

 

you get 15 combinations with this process.

Marcia

[oldlady]

You wrote " i then use my ohaus scale and weigh out 10 grams which is about a tablespoon of glaze, add 2 1/2 grams of stain, dip a test tile. another 10 grams with 5% grams of stain, dip a test tile. as you can see, i get a lot of tests from only 100 grams of base. sometimes when test tiles are scarce i have dipped one long side in the 2 1/2% and the other in the 5%. there are now at least 48 of these tests on a string"

 

But...If you have 10gms base and want to add 2.5% wouldn't that only be .25gm not 2 1/2 grams of stain??

 

Only pointing this out for newbies since i was doing tests and mixed up colorants for 1000gm bases instead of 100gms. Fortunately I liked those test samples and have 1000gms of some nice glazes.

 

Please correct me if I'm out of line here.

 

 

you are absolutely correct! i just didn't know how to read the scale line. i was working with the amount following the zero on the ohaus scale line. two lines plus a space for the .25. FORTUNATELY the percentages are correct.