Magnolia Mud Research

Yes.

This may sound strange to you but I have no code or formula . I just dump some carbanate in a jar and add a bit of water until it feels/looks right. No measuring. I never measure  homemade stains its always by feel no matter if its  coblat ,rutile or Iron. I do stir it up constantly and never add a flux or gum. My thought is  its one more thing to burn out and make for crawing . If you add flux that can also make the drawing move more and get blurred is also my take. Once dry I glaze with a very thin clear glaze and fire hot (I'm a cone 10 potter) . Using the right brush is also a key point

A bit of cement board held off wall  a bit would help any kiln situation to keep walls cooler

I have a few tips
You will get less movement of lines working on bisque ware than greenware-meaning less drift of blue line
Also the Gerstly borate now has a substitute being made but I would avoid all that
I personally when doing line drawings with cobalt just use water with coblat  mixed in a jar(no glaze or Frits) and let it dry and then dip a really thin clear over it. You can also spray that clear   glaze thinly.
I do this on bisque ware
you can get crisp lines this way-the key is not ever touch the drawing section when its done
here is one on porcelain fired to cone 10 from long ago in the 80s

A long time ago I was in a ceramic ART class when another student came in with a "3d printer" that was converted to print several simple ceramic items.  The printer could print several simple pot forms, but the products were obviously NOT art;  because each print was always the exact same pot. 
Bill Kielb  made a picture with his cell-phone and can print that picture many times, but if he and taken 15 pictures of the moon each would have produces 15 different pictures, some interesting, some not; but each would met the "ART" requirement because each picture would be different in some way.  
The question is really are you a maker of pots, or an artist that makes art pots? 
One way to make the "3d printer" a ceramic tool is to make the printer make each pot slightly different.  
I liked the class studio wheel that had a small wobble when throwing bowls, just because it never made the same exact round shape of bowls; bowls that were interesting just because the wheel helped me in a way that no one else in the class could make and neither could I without the wobble.  
The real question is are we making pots for "walmart" or are we making pots that are art?  (a question given by the professor to students on the first day in the college ceramic art class). 
The tools we use to make our art are just tools; some artist will make bowls by hand, others will use a kick-wheel while others will use an electric wheel, some will cast the shape and then spend an hour carving a story on the surface of the bowl, others will use the casted item as a surface to paint with glazes; both are examples of art.   
When I was taking art photography we were taught how to make many different prints from the same negative, (something that  our cell-phone could not).  Each print was classified as ART because we were taught how to change the way the negative was printed  (without changing the negative).  
The challenge for the future is how can we use a new tool to make ceramic ART.    
LT
 

A long time ago I was in a ceramic ART class when another student came in with a "3d printer" that was converted to print several simple ceramic items.  The printer could print several simple pot forms, but the products were obviously NOT art;  because each print was always the exact same pot. 
Bill Kielb  made a picture with his cell-phone and can print that picture many times, but if he and taken 15 pictures of the moon each would have produces 15 different pictures, some interesting, some not; but each would met the "ART" requirement because each picture would be different in some way.  
The question is really are you a maker of pots, or an artist that makes art pots? 
One way to make the "3d printer" a ceramic tool is to make the printer make each pot slightly different.  
I liked the class studio wheel that had a small wobble when throwing bowls, just because it never made the same exact round shape of bowls; bowls that were interesting just because the wheel helped me in a way that no one else in the class could make and neither could I without the wobble.  
The real question is are we making pots for "walmart" or are we making pots that are art?  (a question given by the professor to students on the first day in the college ceramic art class). 
The tools we use to make our art are just tools; some artist will make bowls by hand, others will use a kick-wheel while others will use an electric wheel, some will cast the shape and then spend an hour carving a story on the surface of the bowl, others will use the casted item as a surface to paint with glazes; both are examples of art.   
When I was taking art photography we were taught how to make many different prints from the same negative, (something that  our cell-phone could not).  Each print was classified as ART because we were taught how to change the way the negative was printed  (without changing the negative).  
The challenge for the future is how can we use a new tool to make ceramic ART.    
LT
 

A long time ago I was in a ceramic ART class when another student came in with a "3d printer" that was converted to print several simple ceramic items.  The printer could print several simple pot forms, but the products were obviously NOT art;  because each print was always the exact same pot. 
Bill Kielb  made a picture with his cell-phone and can print that picture many times, but if he and taken 15 pictures of the moon each would have produces 15 different pictures, some interesting, some not; but each would met the "ART" requirement because each picture would be different in some way.  
The question is really are you a maker of pots, or an artist that makes art pots? 
One way to make the "3d printer" a ceramic tool is to make the printer make each pot slightly different.  
I liked the class studio wheel that had a small wobble when throwing bowls, just because it never made the same exact round shape of bowls; bowls that were interesting just because the wheel helped me in a way that no one else in the class could make and neither could I without the wobble.  
The real question is are we making pots for "walmart" or are we making pots that are art?  (a question given by the professor to students on the first day in the college ceramic art class). 
The tools we use to make our art are just tools; some artist will make bowls by hand, others will use a kick-wheel while others will use an electric wheel, some will cast the shape and then spend an hour carving a story on the surface of the bowl, others will use the casted item as a surface to paint with glazes; both are examples of art.   
When I was taking art photography we were taught how to make many different prints from the same negative, (something that  our cell-phone could not).  Each print was classified as ART because we were taught how to change the way the negative was printed  (without changing the negative).  
The challenge for the future is how can we use a new tool to make ceramic ART.    
LT
 

My parents still prefer the handmade mugs I made 10 years ago to my slipcast work from 3D printed molds  Even if it took me a lot more creative effort to get to that slipcast piece they just enjoy the handmade feel. I guess it's the same way a print has much less soul than the original painting.

Making a brushing glaze saves me money when I am ready to test a glaze on mugs. I can glaze 3-4 by mixing up 150g of glaze/225ml and brushing it on and I am not sure I could pour the inside and out of that many with 225ml and get a nice surface finish. I find it helps to bridge the gap between test tile and making a bucket of glaze.

good ol' dollar tree sells makeup mops that hold a ton at a time.   not pointy but i use them to apply a full covering of slip from top to bottom.   carving through the slip is my final step.   
using colored slip made from your own clay is a simple, just add colorants to the slurry and test for the depth of color you want.   then you can use only one glaze to finish, clear or matte.    another rabbit hole to dig into.

I think it's worth adding that if you are /new/ to doing it, you really should work at NOT being too critical at first.  I find my students are scared to death of messing things up and failing.  And yet we learn so much from making mistakes!   The biggest issue for people starting out is being too critical and not just DOING IT.  Get over FEAR.  Do it anyway and not worry if it's not perfect. 
So it' a two edged sword.  Being critical of our own work is good to push ourselves to get better and better, and yet at the same time finding that sweet spot where you can be happy with what you are doing is also really important.  I encourage them to let things slide a bit more when you are new at it.  There will be time for fussiness or fixing things later.  Get the basics down first and don't let the little stuff trip you up and keep you from making work!

Absolutely.  It drives me batty  if I don't get something perfect.  I'll try and make it perfect until I either get it just right, or get tired of working on it, or ruin it.  Thankfully the latter almost never happens but there's a chance I'll overdue it.  I'm so bad about it that I often go back and REDO older pieces just to bring them up to my current skill level if it's something I still own.  I can let some things slide if I must.  Everything comes to a point where I simply must stop and move onto something else but that doesn't mean it won't bug me forever after.
I do have a habit of looking at someone else's work and thinking about how I'd do it differently, or how it could be better.  But that's just because I also teach and I am always trying to offer ways to help my students improve their own work.  Without them necessarily copying my own style.  That said however, I really like seeing pieces that aren't done the same way as I would do them.  Variety is good and being able to recognize another artist's work through their choice of color or style is what keeps things interesting!
Little things that are sloppy though, that could have been done better, always jump out at me.  In my work or someone else's.  But only if it wasn't intentional.  Even in my very selective niche of equine art ceramics, realism isn't always the goal.  We also do some decorative glazing where it's just basic fun with ceramics and far less restrictive.  Always more to learn, or new things to try, even with my own work.

long time ago I made a "test" kiln with a few of bricks and a fired with a gas torch flame gun; it worked just fine; took longer to cool than it was to get to test temperature.  the idea was based on a page in book written by one of the early 1900 experts  whose name I don't remember. the size was about the 8x5x5 inches.  The book picture of the kiln had triangle cross section. 
I have also seen someone convert a gas camp stove to a small kiln;   again an example of Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.   
LT
 

The pot was first made as a thrown cylinder that was about half the diameter of the final diameter.  A coating of dry kaolin or a nearly dry paste of kaolin was applied before the cylinder and then allow some time for the coating to dry somewhat. This could be by waiting for the surface to dry or by heating with a heat gun.  When the surface was "dry enough" for the surface to crack when the cylinder was spread to final dimensions. The pot was then bisqued.  The glazes was applied and then fired in a kiln.  This pot was in a gas reduction kiln to ~cone 10.  
If the pot were fired in a electric kiln the glaze would be different due to the lack of reduction and some moisture from the gas fire.  
some areas were coated with a shino glaze, some was coated with a spray of baking soda.  The project was to create a cracked surface.  
The choices of glaze and the ways of application can make the cracks stand out or almost disappear.  If my memory is correct, the glazed cracked areas was applied with a sponge.  the none glazed area was sprayed from a hand sprayer.  the top area and the faraway edge top area the cracked area in the image is a run of the interior glaze which was a celadon glaze. 

The cracked surface and the method of application of a glaze gives the potter a wide range of final appearances.  The method is great if you are willing to have each pot be different.  If you must always have the same look you will be wasting time and material.  
I chose kaolin because it was available; Crushed bisque ware, sand, and other materials will work.  I switched long ago from slips to dry or paste coatings as they always make cracks;   work with the old alka seltzer slogan "try it you'll like it" approach;  you learn more that way.  
LT
 

It's possible that the commercial plate has tiny imperceptible stilt marks somewhere on the bottom that are hard to find. Also, some commercial whiteware is "bisque" fired to full vitrification without glaze, fully supported in the kiln so there is no slumping, and then glazed at a lower temperature on stilts of some sort. Because the glaze firing is at a lower temperature, there is still no slumping.

For small test batches I use a digital 500g pocket scale. You can get them on Amazon for less than $10 and they work well. For full buckets I use a digital MyWeigh 50# postal scale. I have several triple beam scales in my studio that I haven't touched for years because they're slow and bulky. There's nothing we need to do with glazes that requires incredible levels of accuracy. Your average digital scale is more than accurate enough.

Respectfully, all clay bodies need testing. Cone 10 doesn't guarantee fewer problems than cone 6. I've seen cone 10 bodies leak and bloat, too.

ZERO!  
grandma don't like water on the piano!  
if the pot leaks at cone 6 then fire to cone 7 or 7 and half.  
I started ceramics using  a Cone 06 clay body that was fired to cone 2  to produce pots that did not leak.   At cone 06 one is depending on the glaze to keep the water inside the pot;  any glaze crack means grandma uses that pot for an outdoor flower pot or for the next trash pickup.   
LT
 

ZERO!  
grandma don't like water on the piano!  
if the pot leaks at cone 6 then fire to cone 7 or 7 and half.  
I started ceramics using  a Cone 06 clay body that was fired to cone 2  to produce pots that did not leak.   At cone 06 one is depending on the glaze to keep the water inside the pot;  any glaze crack means grandma uses that pot for an outdoor flower pot or for the next trash pickup.   
LT
 

I solved this "problem" by making the edge slightly leaning opposite of the way the drying moves the rim;  the rim then will be straight up.   my memory says I made three different pots each a little different from the others to find how much  to  move away from  vertical.   
the idea is if the edge leans left when drying then make the edge lean right when you make it.  
LT
 

Couple ideas I have not seen here, convert your design to drilled holes so no longer a clean detached slot but requires threading yarn through one of the holes. Leave a couple small clay bridges in place, once finish fired - cut clay bridges with a diamond blade, buff super smooth with diamond blade and finish decorate small spots with acrylic paint or overglaze the design with lowfire glaze on midfire stuff to final decoration. Definitely make a bit thicker, a full 1/4” seems appropriate.

I am thinking, I frequently find that my best pieces come from moments when I let go of rigid plans and embrace spontaneity. Mistakes often lead to unique designs that add character to my work. Inspiration from nature and personal experiences fuels my creativity, making each piece a reflection of my journey.

Best to avoid mentioning 'molecular' metal oxides when talking to  chemists, as metal oxides don't form molecules.
PS
Don't think that the details need worry you at the moment, but feel obliged to give a few refs.
Molecules are formed by covalently bonded atoms. Metal oxides form 'ionic crystals'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionic_crystal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covalent_bond
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionic_bonding
Most glazes are glasses, and the structure becomes both more complex and more random.

Robin Hopper (aka GRASS): wrights about mocha: 
https://rhrising.blogspot.com/search?q=mocha+ 
part of his discussion of MOCHA is:
Monday, March 11, 2013
MOCHA DIFFUSIONS
one of his recipes:
ROBIN'S UBIQUITOUS SLIP
ANY BALL CLAY  75
ANY KAOLIN       10
SILICA                      10
ANY FELDSPAR    5
TOTAL                   100
TO DEFLOCCULATE THIS SLIP SO THAT IT BECOMES FLUID WITH LESS WATER. ADD 1% SODIUM SILICATE AND/OR 1% SODA ASH
THERE ARE MANY VARIETIES OF SLIP TRAILER.  THE ONES I LIKE BEST ARE RUBBER BULB TYPE CHILDREN'S ENEMA BOTTLES WITH DETACHABLE TIPS, OR BULB TRAILER SETS WITH VARIABLE SIZED TIPS FROM TUCKER'S CERAMIC SUPPLIES, ONTARIO, CANADA
 
LT

Robin Hopper (aka GRASS): wrights about mocha: 
https://rhrising.blogspot.com/search?q=mocha+ 
part of his discussion of MOCHA is:
Monday, March 11, 2013
MOCHA DIFFUSIONS
one of his recipes:
ROBIN'S UBIQUITOUS SLIP
ANY BALL CLAY  75
ANY KAOLIN       10
SILICA                      10
ANY FELDSPAR    5
TOTAL                   100
TO DEFLOCCULATE THIS SLIP SO THAT IT BECOMES FLUID WITH LESS WATER. ADD 1% SODIUM SILICATE AND/OR 1% SODA ASH
THERE ARE MANY VARIETIES OF SLIP TRAILER.  THE ONES I LIKE BEST ARE RUBBER BULB TYPE CHILDREN'S ENEMA BOTTLES WITH DETACHABLE TIPS, OR BULB TRAILER SETS WITH VARIABLE SIZED TIPS FROM TUCKER'S CERAMIC SUPPLIES, ONTARIO, CANADA
 
LT