What To Teach In Glaze Theory Class?

[Tao]

what type of projects or assignments to teach in a glaze theory class? what reading or text book would you suggest?

Sincerely,

Tao

[Marcia Selsor]

I use to assign triangular blends and compare them as a group.

Lana Wilson's approach is very different..she uses teaspoon additions. She has a book.Shape and Surface

Ian Currie's grid system is also a good educator. He has a book Revealing Glazes:The Grid Method

Michael Bailey's ^6 Glazes has excellent explanations of what base elements do to surface and coloring oxides.

Mastering ^6 Glazes is also excellent and with the program Glaze master, you can tweek glazes to your liking.

The temperature doesn't matter as long as the basics are understood.

 

Marcia

[Tao]

I use to assign triangular blends and compare them as a group.

Lana Wilson's approach is very different..she uses teaspoon additions. She has a book.Shape and Surface

Ian Currie's grid system is also a good educator. He has a book Revealing Glazes:The Grid Method

Michael Bailey's ^6 Glazes has excellent explanations of what base elements do to surface and coloring oxides.

Mastering ^6 Glazes is also excellent and with the program Glaze master, you can tweek glazes to your liking.

The temperature doesn't matter as long as the basics are understood.

 

Marcia

 

[Tao]

Marcia,

Thanks for the reply. I think I'm on the right track. For beginning students, I assigned found clay with all shrinkage test and flux melting test. For advance, I did triangular blend. Do you do lecture with your students? What types of lectures will you include to benefit students?

Tao

[Marcia Selsor]

 

I use to give them a light dose of glaze calculation Limit formulas for various temperatures. RO, R2O3, and RO2 Fluxes, Stiffeners and glass makers. I think

a course worth is good to do when combined with actual glaze testing. You might throw in some tweeking requirements like how to reduce crackling..etc.

[Tao]

Thanks! I'll give it a try.

 

Tao

[Stephen Robison]

Great advise Marcia. Triaxial blends and line blends are a great place to start. I would say there are two approaches and one is a science approach and the other a cooking a approach. I would not call it theory as much as calculation or materials and their effects. Trying out combinations of flux, refractory, glass formers and colorants in a cooking approach requires some basic understanding of their melts and the eutectic bonds they create. Colorants that work together in harmony like tin and copper to form reds in reduction and other understandings of the basic color response of oxides when in the presences of certain flux is another way to get some understanding. When I was an undergrad and grad student we had so many different ways to understand what a material by its self does at certain temperatures, button or thimble tests where a great way to understand the material. I still do this with local materials. Looking at the indigenous materials is a bunch of fun and can create something very individualized compared to products that are available to us in the bag. So of course Daniel Rhodes Clay and Glazes for the potter is a great book for a full understanding of most materials. There are other specialized books dedicated to specific glazes like Robert Tichane's book on copper red glazes. A good class offered at Arrowmont, Penland, Haystack or the Appalachian Center for Crafts that has a focus on glaze formulation would be a great place to start too. I was Pete Pinnell's assistant at Arrowmont where I first met Lana Wilson, I think we would both tell you that was a fantastic experience. My professors Karl Borgeson, Charlie Olson, Chuck Hindes, and Bunny McBride all taught me quite a bit about glaze and clay formulation. Of course to really get into it can also be a dangerous and slippery (bentonite) slope. I am saying this because I believe that when we get to involved in all the chemistry sometimes and let me say this again, SOMETIMES we forget that what is the most important in our work is not technical but it is concept and the crafting of the pieces we make. You can buy many glazes in a jar premixed and tested. There is nothing wrong with this approach again it is important to me a s professor even if my students choose to take such an approach to working the surface of their pieces that they still understand the materials they are using. Quite often I give them a recipe that matches what is in the jar and then I say look at the cost effectiveness of buying it pre mixed and more importantly the qualities that one can achieve buy understanding and tweaking out glazes to their desired results. I feel it is almost like buying bread compared to baking it. Most store bought bread is pretty soulless, a good home baked bread in a wood fired bread oven, (or a conventional oven), gives me a bread that makes me want to eat the whole dam loaf right then and there. So there is much to think about on how to approach the issue and why to understand and be able to manipulate your materials. I again can not understate the issues related to cooking, go have fun and make some glaze and see what happens. Remember to be safe and wear gloves, a respirator and always use waster slabs under your experiments. Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!!

 

 

I use to give them a light dose of glaze calculation Limit formulas for various temperatures. RO, R2O3, and RO2 Fluxes, Stiffeners and glass makers. I think

a course worth is good to do when combined with actual glaze testing. You might throw in some tweeking requirements like how to reduce crackling..etc.

 

 

 

 

[ArtView]

I took a glaze theory class and professor instructed us to make a glaze out of our dirt/clay in back yard. It was a starting point for our future tests. I still use sieved clay from my yard on occasion.

[Deb Evans]

I agree w/ Marcia and Steve -

go w/ limit formula, glaze calc, test individual components and keep a notebook. Consistency is the key to repeat results.

 

 

[Pres]

Great advise Marcia. Triaxial blends and line blends are a great place to start. I would say there are two approaches and one is a science approach and the other a cooking a approach. I would not call it theory as much as calculation or materials and their effects. Trying out combinations of flux, refractory, glass formers and colorants in a cooking approach requires some basic understanding of their melts and the eutectic bonds they create. Colorants that work together in harmony like tin and copper to form reds in reduction and other understandings of the basic color response of oxides when in the presences of certain flux is another way to get some understanding. When I was an undergrad and grad student we had so many different ways to understand what a material by its self does at certain temperatures, button or thimble tests where a great way to understand the material. I still do this with local materials. Looking at the indigenous materials is a bunch of fun and can create something very individualized compared to products that are available to us in the bag. So of course Daniel Rhodes Clay and Glazes for the potter is a great book for a full understanding of most materials. There are other specialized books dedicated to specific glazes like Robert Tichane's book on copper red glazes. A good class offered at Arrowmont, Penland, Haystack or the Appalachian Center for Crafts that has a focus on glaze formulation would be a great place to start too. I was Pete Pinnell's assistant at Arrowmont where I first met Lana Wilson, I think we would both tell you that was a fantastic experience. My professors Karl Borgeson, Charlie Olson, Chuck Hindes, and Bunny McBride all taught me quite a bit about glaze and clay formulation. Of course to really get into it can also be a dangerous and slippery (bentonite) slope. I am saying this because I believe that when we get to involved in all the chemistry sometimes and let me say this again, SOMETIMES we forget that what is the most important in our work is not technical but it is concept and the crafting of the pieces we make. You can buy many glazes in a jar premixed and tested. There is nothing wrong with this approach again it is important to me a s professor even if my students choose to take such an approach to working the surface of their pieces that they still understand the materials they are using. Quite often I give them a recipe that matches what is in the jar and then I say look at the cost effectiveness of buying it pre mixed and more importantly the qualities that one can achieve buy understanding and tweaking out glazes to their desired results. I feel it is almost like buying bread compared to baking it. Most store bought bread is pretty soulless, a good home baked bread in a wood fired bread oven, (or a conventional oven), gives me a bread that makes me want to eat the whole dam loaf right then and there. So there is much to think about on how to approach the issue and why to understand and be able to manipulate your materials. I again can not understate the issues related to cooking, go have fun and make some glaze and see what happens. Remember to be safe and wear gloves, a respirator and always use waster slabs under your experiments. Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!!

 

 

I use to give them a light dose of glaze calculation Limit formulas for various temperatures. RO, R2O3, and RO2 Fluxes, Stiffeners and glass makers. I think

a course worth is good to do when combined with actual glaze testing. You might throw in some tweeking requirements like how to reduce crackling..etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!! I believe that this should be a paramount part of any glaze theory class. All too often bad habits developed by un supervised students can lead to bad habits in later life. I always taught the simplest of things building to the more elaborate when comes to studio saftey. Ex. take off your rings and watches and put them in your pockets, tie your long hair back or tuck it before throwing, wear gloves and a mask when handling glaze materials, use wet water to clean instead of a broom or use a scraper instead. Little steps building to better habits.

 

On glazing theory it depends on your audience how deep you get into things. With HS kids I didnt do a lot of formulation, but had them work with a base glaze and oxides in triaxial blends. interestingly enough, we mixed an amount of base glaze then used graduated cylinders to measure out amounts and then added the oxides to them and sieved through smaller homemade sieves. Worked well. Ex 100 g test glaze mixed up, divided into ten groups after water added, so 10 grams each, then add oxide in 1-5 percent and sieve. Less waste. It could be done with just the dried glaze, but we did it wet.

[Tao]

Great advise Marcia. Triaxial blends and line blends are a great place to start. I would say there are two approaches and one is a science approach and the other a cooking a approach. I would not call it theory as much as calculation or materials and their effects. Trying out combinations of flux, refractory, glass formers and colorants in a cooking approach requires some basic understanding of their melts and the eutectic bonds they create. Colorants that work together in harmony like tin and copper to form reds in reduction and other understandings of the basic color response of oxides when in the presences of certain flux is another way to get some understanding. When I was an undergrad and grad student we had so many different ways to understand what a material by its self does at certain temperatures, button or thimble tests where a great way to understand the material. I still do this with local materials. Looking at the indigenous materials is a bunch of fun and can create something very individualized compared to products that are available to us in the bag. So of course Daniel Rhodes Clay and Glazes for the potter is a great book for a full understanding of most materials. There are other specialized books dedicated to specific glazes like Robert Tichane's book on copper red glazes. A good class offered at Arrowmont, Penland, Haystack or the Appalachian Center for Crafts that has a focus on glaze formulation would be a great place to start too. I was Pete Pinnell's assistant at Arrowmont where I first met Lana Wilson, I think we would both tell you that was a fantastic experience. My professors Karl Borgeson, Charlie Olson, Chuck Hindes, and Bunny McBride all taught me quite a bit about glaze and clay formulation. Of course to really get into it can also be a dangerous and slippery (bentonite) slope. I am saying this because I believe that when we get to involved in all the chemistry sometimes and let me say this again, SOMETIMES we forget that what is the most important in our work is not technical but it is concept and the crafting of the pieces we make. You can buy many glazes in a jar premixed and tested. There is nothing wrong with this approach again it is important to me a s professor even if my students choose to take such an approach to working the surface of their pieces that they still understand the materials they are using. Quite often I give them a recipe that matches what is in the jar and then I say look at the cost effectiveness of buying it pre mixed and more importantly the qualities that one can achieve buy understanding and tweaking out glazes to their desired results. I feel it is almost like buying bread compared to baking it. Most store bought bread is pretty soulless, a good home baked bread in a wood fired bread oven, (or a conventional oven), gives me a bread that makes me want to eat the whole dam loaf right then and there. So there is much to think about on how to approach the issue and why to understand and be able to manipulate your materials. I again can not understate the issues related to cooking, go have fun and make some glaze and see what happens. Remember to be safe and wear gloves, a respirator and always use waster slabs under your experiments. Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!!

 

 

I use to give them a light dose of glaze calculation Limit formulas for various temperatures. RO, R2O3, and RO2 Fluxes, Stiffeners and glass makers. I think

a course worth is good to do when combined with actual glaze testing. You might throw in some tweeking requirements like how to reduce crackling..etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!! I believe that this should be a paramount part of any glaze theory class. All too often bad habits developed by un supervised students can lead to bad habits in later life. I always taught the simplest of things building to the more elaborate when comes to studio saftey. Ex. take off your rings and watches and put them in your pockets, tie your long hair back or tuck it before throwing, wear gloves and a mask when handling glaze materials, use wet water to clean instead of a broom or use a scraper instead. Little steps building to better habits.

 

On glazing theory it depends on your audience how deep you get into things. With HS kids I didnt do a lot of formulation, but had them work with a base glaze and oxides in triaxial blends. interestingly enough, we mixed an amount of base glaze then used graduated cylinders to measure out amounts and then added the oxides to them and sieved through smaller homemade sieves. Worked well. Ex 100 g test glaze mixed up, divided into ten groups after water added, so 10 grams each, then add oxide in 1-5 percent and sieve. Less waste. It could be done with just the dried glaze, but we did it wet.

 

[Tao]

Great advise Marcia. Triaxial blends and line blends are a great place to start. I would say there are two approaches and one is a science approach and the other a cooking a approach. I would not call it theory as much as calculation or materials and their effects. Trying out combinations of flux, refractory, glass formers and colorants in a cooking approach requires some basic understanding of their melts and the eutectic bonds they create. Colorants that work together in harmony like tin and copper to form reds in reduction and other understandings of the basic color response of oxides when in the presences of certain flux is another way to get some understanding. When I was an undergrad and grad student we had so many different ways to understand what a material by its self does at certain temperatures, button or thimble tests where a great way to understand the material. I still do this with local materials. Looking at the indigenous materials is a bunch of fun and can create something very individualized compared to products that are available to us in the bag. So of course Daniel Rhodes Clay and Glazes for the potter is a great book for a full understanding of most materials. There are other specialized books dedicated to specific glazes like Robert Tichane's book on copper red glazes. A good class offered at Arrowmont, Penland, Haystack or the Appalachian Center for Crafts that has a focus on glaze formulation would be a great place to start too. I was Pete Pinnell's assistant at Arrowmont where I first met Lana Wilson, I think we would both tell you that was a fantastic experience. My professors Karl Borgeson, Charlie Olson, Chuck Hindes, and Bunny McBride all taught me quite a bit about glaze and clay formulation. Of course to really get into it can also be a dangerous and slippery (bentonite) slope. I am saying this because I believe that when we get to involved in all the chemistry sometimes and let me say this again, SOMETIMES we forget that what is the most important in our work is not technical but it is concept and the crafting of the pieces we make. You can buy many glazes in a jar premixed and tested. There is nothing wrong with this approach again it is important to me a s professor even if my students choose to take such an approach to working the surface of their pieces that they still understand the materials they are using. Quite often I give them a recipe that matches what is in the jar and then I say look at the cost effectiveness of buying it pre mixed and more importantly the qualities that one can achieve buy understanding and tweaking out glazes to their desired results. I feel it is almost like buying bread compared to baking it. Most store bought bread is pretty soulless, a good home baked bread in a wood fired bread oven, (or a conventional oven), gives me a bread that makes me want to eat the whole dam loaf right then and there. So there is much to think about on how to approach the issue and why to understand and be able to manipulate your materials. I again can not understate the issues related to cooking, go have fun and make some glaze and see what happens. Remember to be safe and wear gloves, a respirator and always use waster slabs under your experiments. Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!!

 

 

I use to give them a light dose of glaze calculation Limit formulas for various temperatures. RO, R2O3, and RO2 Fluxes, Stiffeners and glass makers. I think

a course worth is good to do when combined with actual glaze testing. You might throw in some tweeking requirements like how to reduce crackling..etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safety for your health and the health of your kiln are two things you must embrace! Have fun!!! I believe that this should be a paramount part of any glaze theory class. All too often bad habits developed by un supervised students can lead to bad habits in later life. I always taught the simplest of things building to the more elaborate when comes to studio saftey. Ex. take off your rings and watches and put them in your pockets, tie your long hair back or tuck it before throwing, wear gloves and a mask when handling glaze materials, use wet water to clean instead of a broom or use a scraper instead. Little steps building to better habits.

 

On glazing theory it depends on your audience how deep you get into things. With HS kids I didnt do a lot of formulation, but had them work with a base glaze and oxides in triaxial blends. interestingly enough, we mixed an amount of base glaze then used graduated cylinders to measure out amounts and then added the oxides to them and sieved through smaller homemade sieves. Worked well. Ex 100 g test glaze mixed up, divided into ten groups after water added, so 10 grams each, then add oxide in 1-5 percent and sieve. Less waste. It could be done with just the dried glaze, but we did it wet.

 

 

 

Is it too late to show my appreciation for all your inputs 7 months later? Soory! Thanks you all for your suggestions!

[Tao]

Is it too late to show my appreciation for all your inputs 7 months later? Soory!

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Truly,

[Marcia Selsor]

tao,

SO did you use any of this advise?

Marcia

[Tao]

tao,

SO did you use any of this advise?

Marcia

 

 

I started the found clay melting tests with detail record of shrinkage, colors, and fire in a different range of temp. I also did a base colorless glaze using all oxide. It creates a nice triaxial blend. We had a great disscuion on the result. I didn't do too good on lecture. I need to improve that later. Thanks for asking.

 

Tao

[Tao]

tao,

SO did you use any of this advise?

Marcia

 

 

I started the found clay melting tests with detail record of shrinkage, colors, and fire in a different range of temp. I also did a base colorless glaze using all oxide. It creates a nice triaxial blend. We had a great disscuion on the result. I didn't do too good on lecture. I need to improve that later. Thanks for asking.

 

Tao