Kaolin wash for bisque ceramics

[ingrid houchin]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone uses kaolin wash to coat the bisque ceramic work with? If so, what are the results and is there a particular composition you use; I assume it's not just kiln wash.

Thank you.

Kind regards,

Ingrid 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

What context have you found this kaolin wash in? I think we need a bit more context

I can’t think of a technique that would involve applying a wash made only of kaolin, unless someone was trying to create glaze “flaws” on sculptural work. The added dust is mostly going to make glazes applied over it crawl a bit. In some atmospheric firings like soda or wood, there are some bisque slip recipes that use different kaolins, but you need a thicker application than you’d get with a wash.

The only other thing I can think of is that there are many kinds of kiln wash, some containing kaolin and some that don’t. If you’re going through someone’s old stash of materials, it could just be their shorthand to differentiate between 2 types.

[ingrid houchin]

Hi Callie, I was investigating the work of Eva Hild who does not glaze her structures but applies a kaolin wash. I think it is slip really that she adds at a leather hard stage but wanted to check if anyone has any experience with that process?

Thank you.

 

[Magnolia Mud Research]

13 hours ago, ingrid houchin said:

I was wondering if anyone uses kaolin wash to coat the bisque ceramic work with?

I have been making exterior surface coatings of all form of items, bowls, vases, bottles, and sculpture using a paste (think toothpaste or soft butter) of various kaolins.  The paste is applied to the clay body (prior to bisque) and compressed with a spatula; .    I have also used dry kaolins, ball clays, and "wild clay" dust to rub into rough surfaces of bisqued (and bone dry surfaces) to change the color of the fired ware.  I used paste and dry materials to avoid having to deal with extra moisture that a slip produces.     
my work is fired to cone 10+ reduction; some sculpture is only fired to bisque. 

LT
 

[PeterH]

Thin pickings ... but it looks like she sprayed kaolin slip onto really dry sanded clay.

From https://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/friedman1/index.html
I build big forms, the clay will dry slowly and not collapse. When the form is ready and the clay is dry, I sand away at the surface and then spray it with a slurry of kaolin. The pieces are finally fired in stoneware temperature, about 1250
 

From https://www.callancontemporary.com/press/non-present-presence-eva-hild-s-evocative-sculptures-fill-space-with-meaning-and-poeticism-art-new-orleans
Each work is monochromatic, either in pristine white or rich, chocolate black, and results from a four- to six-month-long process. Hild shapes stoneware clay into coils, allowing plenty of drying time, then fastidiously sands and sprays them with kaolin coating to impart a preternaturally matte finish. Finally, she fires them at 1,250 degrees Fahrenheit, ending their long genesis and beginning their new journeys as objects d’art.

[Min]

I think something might have been lost in translation. Makes more sense that it is an engobe that Hild uses.

Example work below from Forrest Gard with a similar finish, albeit a little coarser, using one of Rhodes engobe recipes. If the engobe was sprayed on dry clay then polished with a diamond pad after firing I think it would very much resemble the finish on Hild's work. For her chocolate black pieces there must be other ingredients to maintain the dark chocolate black colour.