Texture

[Trevor]

I saw this vase the other day and I love the texture and the weathered look.  Suggestions on how to get this type of texture? The grooves are pretty simple but I like the unevenness and I'm not sure how to get that.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Trevor

[oldlady]

could it be a lava-like glaze?

[PeterH]

8 hours ago, oldlady said:

could it be a lava-like glaze?

Results of a few quick googles to illustrate oldlady's point

lava glaze images https://tinyurl.com/yc5m39u3

Marilee's Lava Glaze https://tinyurl.com/3dwpzu4w

Recipes in Glazy https://tinyurl.com/2vmx6uth

PS If you want to achieve such glazes the experts are bound to want to know:

- What cones(s) you do/can fire to

- If you use paint-on or dipping glazes

- If you rely on shop-bought glazes or can make your own

PPS Testing Silicon Carbide Grits in Cone 6 Lava / Crater Glazes https://tinyurl.com/yxzburp7
 

[oldlady]

thank you, peter!

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Could also be something a bit more straightforward, like a black glaze over a coarse sculpture clay body.

[Magnolia Mud Research]

21 hours ago, Trevor said:

Suggestions on how to get this type of texture?

the pot looks like the roughness is due the coarse clay body : perhaps a Raku clay body fired to maturity.  
The dark (black iron) color is due to an iron oxide application at the green ware stage and glazed with a clear glaze that was wiped away with a damp sponge leaving a very thin glaze layer. Why I think so: that is how I have seen it done by others.  

I have spayed bisqued raw dark clay body with a baking soda wash and gotten a similar effect fired to cone 10 reduction. 

LT
 

[Trevor]

@PeterH Thank you and everyone else for sharing your knowledge. 

I do this on the side so I try to keep things as simple as possible. I don't make my own glazes and I both brush and dip my pieces. Right now I've been using Laguna b-mix (white) clay and I fire to cone 5/6. I'd like to keep all my clay and glazes in the same mid-fire category to avoid problems — this I'm sure will limit my options. 

[Trevor]

3 hours ago, Magnolia Mud Research said:

I have spayed bisqued raw dark clay body with a baking soda wash

I've never done a baking soda wash before — Is it as straight forward as baking soda from your kitchen pantry and water? 

Also in college I remember someone saying raku is poisonous and not to eat out of or plant in containers that have gone through that process. Is that correct? 

The container pictured is my friend's tea leaves container and he can't find another so he asked if I could make one.

[Magnolia Mud Research]

2 hours ago, Trevor said:

Is it as straight forward as baking soda from your kitchen pantry and water?

yep!  

my reference to Raku is that the clay body recommended for Raku ware is a white clay body that matures when fired to cone 10.   When fired temperature for Raku around here is less than bisque temperature and the clay body is not mature.   Fired to cone 10 it is just a mature white clay body with a lot of large grog particles.    

LT

[Denice]

I have used a black clay that would trim that rough if the piece was a little to dry to be trimming.   Black glazes worked well on it,  it was a C5/6 clay.    Denice

[Rae Reich]

Judging by the foot, it’s a smooth white clay fired to temperature, with a black (cobalt/manganese) lava-type glaze.

It’s not that Raku is poisonous itself - although there could be release of some glaze elements with cooking/heating -  but firing to such low temperatures leaves the clay still porous and it will absorb food and liquids that you can’t really wash or clean out.  Storage of dry tea leaves might be all right, except that porous clay will not be air tight. Raku tea bowls are intended to be used only for plain tea, no milk, lemon or sugar. I think the absorbed tea from use is considered proper aging (never wash with soap!).

Edited May 14, 2022 by Rae Reich

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I still think it’s a simple black glaze, or perhaps an engobe that leans towards the glossy side applied over texture. 

If I was trying to reproduce this look at cone 6 with B mix and commercial glazes:

I’d get some grog to wedge into your b-mix, if you only want to make a few pieces. They do make a grogged version if you want to commit to a whole box. If you are unused to throwing a groggy clay, be sure to keep the edge of your hand just a little above the wheelhead or you’ll take all the skin off. Don’t stress too much about tying to get the piece thin: in fact, leave it a little on the thick side.  You’re going to trim the entire outside of the pot at stiff leather hard to bring out the texture. Use your trimming tool to create the lines. Think of it like drawing with your trimming tool. Polish the foot well with a silicone rib to make sure there’s no grog, and texture on the bottom is smooth. Amaco looks like they carry a cone 6 satin matte glaze (SM-1 Black) that ticks all the sheen/flow boxes that you see on the original.