Achilles

Thanks for the explanation. This reminds me that the way glazes are combined and applied is just as important as the glazes themselves . The effect is stunning.

That's a beautiful glaze combination. Would you mind telling us how you glazed this piece? Is that the same white glaze you included in your post above? Sorry to resurrect an old thread. But I found this while searching for runny glazes, and it was just too lovely not to ask.

Thanks, everyone, for the helpful replies. I suspect I may end up with a disappointing result because I don't have time to re-bisque, but I will try a combination of the heat gun, sanding and dabbing extra glaze methods that were suggested as alternatives. @Babs, it is green Aftosa wax. I thought wax and wax resist were synonymous. Is there a difference?

In applying wax to the foot of a pot, I accidentally got a drip on the side where I want to glaze. What is the best way to remove this, other than re-bisquing the pot? I am trying to get it into a glaze firing that will be loaded tonight, so re-bisquing isn't an option for me.

Good question. Actually, there is no difference in Chinese. It's just a different transliteration system. The Chinese character 汝 is pronounced like "Roo". Ju is an older transliteration system; Ru is more common today. I started using "Ju" in my post, and then realized that the article used "Ru", so I went back and changed it, but I guess I missed a couple places. Sorry for the confusion!

This pot is Ru ware, and there are several reasons why Ru ware is so expensive. First, it is extremely rare. There are only about 70 pieces known to exist and 20 of them are in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. What is left rarely comes on the market. As noted in the article, only 6 pieces have sold at auction since 1940. Second, Ju ware were the first ceramics "officially" commissioned exclusively for the imperial court. Third, there is a long history of Ru ware collection. The Ru kilns were in use only for about one hundred years until the Northern Song was overrun by the Mongols and the Song court fled south. Chinese in the south were very nostalgic for the Northern Song period, and artwork that was associated with the Northern Song court quickly became a prized possession. Ru ware is also interesting aesthetically. In addition to its simplicity, restraint, and elegant proportions, Ju pottery was the first example of an "all-over" glaze. The surface texture was intended to resemble jade. Also, although many of the pieces exhibit crazing, it is believed this was not originally intentional. Lastly, the article describes the piece as "Chinese porcelain", but all Ju ware is actually stoneware.

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. The recipe for kiln wash above calls for "calcined EPK", which I am not familiar with. From what I found online, this is made by firing regular EPK in a bowl. Is it sufficient to fire the EPK in my next bisque firing (come 04), or do I need to fire it to the same temperature as my glaze firings (cone 6) before mixing it with the aluminum hydrate and regular EPK?

In my glaze firings, I have found kiln wash stuck to the inside of some bowls. I checked my shelves and there is absolutely no kiln wash on the bottom or sides of them, so know it isn't flaking off the bottom of the shelf above and landing in the bowl. My working assumption is that the kiln wash is flaking off of the shelves and floating around the kiln. Does that sound possible? If so, is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening? In case it is helpful to know, I am using pre-made kiln wash that I buy in powder form from the local supplier. I mixed it with water and then brushed it on my shelves. Per the instructions, I applied 3–4 layers in the following manner: apply a coat of wash, let it dry for several hours, repeat. I waited about a week before firing the washed shelves, and I first bisque fired them to ^04, then later glaze fired them to ^6. Nevertheless, the wash seems is brittle and is flaking off. What should I do?

I think the answer you received needs some qualification— while it may technically be possible to make a plaster mold using any model, some materials are much easier to use than others. The two main concerns when making plaster molds are: (1) the model shouldn't be made of a porous material (or the plaster will stick to it) and (2) the model should give slightly (or you will have trouble getting it out of the mold intact, especially if the form is complex). Examples of materials that are too porous to be useful are bisqueware, papier mâché, and untreated wood. Applying a mold release agent, like murphy oil soap, will only help so much with these materials. Examples of materials that may be too stiff to be removed from the mold without breaking either the model or the mold are thin glass or ceramic and wood (particularly fragile wood, like balsam). Better options for making models are green clay, modeling clay (oil-based), or carved plaster. If you have an existing model that is too porous or stiff, make a new model of it using silicone.

I understand from reading other threads on this topic that I can make a cone pack by putting cones in some clay wadding; however, they will explode if they heat up too quickly. Since I glaze using a fast firing schedule, I am concerned about this risk, and thought it might be safer to first include the cone packs in my bisque firing, since the bisque uses a long, slow schedule. So my question is: if I put a bunch of Cone 6 cone packs (i.e., cone 6 cones in clay wadding) in with a cone 04 bisque, can I then use them in later glaze firings? Or are the cones less effective if they go through a preliminary firing, even if they don't reach Cone 6 temperature?

A lot of great suggestions here. I will give them each a try and see what works. I am glad to know I am not the only one who struggles with this issue.

Hello, I hope someone can help me: I use Standard Porcelain 365 for Cone 6 to throw mugs off the hump. Part of the nature of throwing off the hump is that there is a thick wad of clay at the bottom that I need to trim. The problem is that the rim of the mugs dry out well before the bottoms are dry enough to trim. This also makes attaching handles problematic because the top of the mug it bone dry by the time I am ready to attach the handle. When I have wrapped my pieces in plastic, after a week the bottoms are still too wet to trim. Is there something else I should try? Thank you, Achilles