DarrellVanDrooly

Rutile = orangey brown Copper Carb+ turquoise ish Manganese Di ox = textured brown Copper oxide + black or reddish I usually mix all of these 1 part colorant, 1 part gerstley borate, .5 part ball clay/

I've only made a few baking pans (must make more!) when i did, I just got a real baking pan at the thrift store, coated the inside with petroleum jelly, and then plastic wrap, then just pushed a thick slab into the pan, let it dry then cleaned it off and added handles. Darrel

If i have anything organic in the kiln, I take all the peep hole plugs out, fire slowly, and make sure the studio is well ventilated. Hope that helps. Darrel

When I do horsehair firings, I sprinkle sugar on the pots. The sugar leaves a black mark where every grain hit the pot. It is quite pretty. I rub my pots in coconut oil post firing to alter the color slightly and make it slightly more smooth. Other potters I know use tile sealer on their pots to make 'em all shiny. (this is fired to ^012, removed from the kiln while hot and have had granular sugar thrown at them.)

Mike, My kiln usually takes about 6-10 hours to get to cone 6 depending on what time of year I fire (My kiln is in an outdoor structure, and it takes a while to fire in the middle of a blizzard). I do not track cooling very throughly, but I know it takes about 11 hours to cool to under 100 degrees. I occasionally use a couple matte glazes, but I have not tried crystalline yet. I want to. Sorry I couldn't fully answer your question. Darrel

I detest making mugs.

You could try adding some kind of hardner like maybe cmc solution to your clay to make the green ware sturdier. I doubt that you can fire low enough to be able to have it be strong and biodegradable.

For a 10,000g batch I add like 50g of bentonite, 1/2 cup of epsom salt solution, 1/4 cup of cmc solution, and maybe 3 tablespoons of glycerin.

I add a cocktail of cmc solution, epsom salts, bentonite, and glycerin to my glazes for suspension. Im not sure if there's a particular one of those that works the best, or if they work the best in a mix.

A satin clear is pretty impossible. If you really want a nice clear and can't handle gloss, try using a gloss clear then sandblasting the fired work. If you can find a sandblaster. You might also try adding a little more gerstley borate to your current glaze. Best, Darrel

I've had lots of trouble with palladium. I apply 2-3 coats and fire it to ^6 with a 15 minute hold. It's usually that nice silver but is occasionally that ugly black. I have also found that it looks especially silvery under a clear glaze.

I have had very bad luck with potter's choice glazes. I agree they all turn out really dark and muddy looking. The only one I ever use is Palladium which i've had a lot of trouble keeping from running.

Ive fired ^5 B-mix in a ^9 wood firing with no problems whatsoever so I don't see why it couldn't withstand a ^11 wood firing.

I did a craft fair in Pagosa Springs (a tourist town) in front of a hotel/resort/thing last year. My kiln had decided to stop working before I had a chance to make enough inventory to fill up my booth. I had about 40 pots to fill up a 10 x 10 booth, but I'd already payed to be vending for the weekend and had everything planned so I went down there anyway. It was a three day show and I'd sold out except for 1 bowl by noon on the second day. I remember the artist who had a booth next to me looked over at me, cracked up and said "this is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen! You look like you're a 5 year old running a lemonade stand with one cup of lemonade". After that crafter after crafter walked up to my booth said things like "always bring three times more than you think you'll sell" and "well you can't break down your tent 'til 5 so try to act confident i guess" until 5 came around. This isn't terrible except for the fact that I sold out but only made a half what i'd expected to/needed to make, and it was pretty humiliating. But if this is the worst trade show story I have then i've got it pretty darn great. Darrel

If it is calcite then id do some tests with additions of a flux and dolomitic rock. Maybe even cobalt as a colorant? Darrel