tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post6559321451359978215..comments2024-03-22T17:41:17.625+13:00Comments on Peter's Pottery: Crystal Glaze TestsPeterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-21804533791109233812012-05-10T09:49:00.427+12:002012-05-10T09:49:00.427+12:00Hi Arlette,
Good to hear from you, and welcome to ...Hi Arlette,<br />Good to hear from you, and welcome to my blog. (I also received the Email from you with the glaze photo, and will email you with more information about that.)<br /><br />The first picture is of the base glaze with the addition of 6 percent titanium dioxide. The titanium does improve the crystal growth and shape, and it also makes the glaze surrounding the crystals more opaque. For an interesting variation on this, you can use rutile in place of titanium. This will give a "softer" looking crystal with more creamy colouring.<br /><br />CMC is a type of gum that some potters add to the glaze to make glaze easier to use, especially glazes that have a large frit component and little or no clay. It helps prevent all the glaze materials settling rapidly to the bottom of a bucket that is full of liquid glaze and forming a lump! <br />More information about CMC is available on line, I found that digitalfire.com has useful information http://digitalfire.com/4sight/material/cmc_gum_228.html<br /><br />Bentonite can be used in place of CMC gum, as it also can aid glaze suspension.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-22027422040905309012012-05-09T19:43:50.641+12:002012-05-09T19:43:50.641+12:00Hi Peter, the base glaze , first picture is with t...Hi Peter, the base glaze , first picture is with the titanium or without titanium ? What is CNC ? I'm actually looking for a crystal glaze, white background and white crystals, so this one comes nearby I think . Thanks, greetings from Belgium, ArletteArlettenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-54393726385985682202011-06-30T21:12:38.401+12:002011-06-30T21:12:38.401+12:00Hi Roz,
Good to hear from you. Not sure if you ar...Hi Roz,<br />Good to hear from you. Not sure if you are asking me, or the other "Anonymous" about clay, but, I use Abbots White for my crystalline glazed pots. It is a mid fire white that is at its top limit at about cone 9. P.Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-77930920090524172822011-06-30T10:06:31.987+12:002011-06-30T10:06:31.987+12:00I have been trying less than 1% nickle in a titani...I have been trying less than 1% nickle in a titanium crystalline glaze, more seems to result in that green.<br />What type of clay are you using?<br />RozAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-69945042070665832142011-02-23T21:03:36.656+13:002011-02-23T21:03:36.656+13:00Started also to play with cristal glazes and did f...Started also to play with cristal glazes and did find one basic with 3110, zinkoxide and silica. added nikkeloxide and it turns green (olive) background with large blue crystals. could not believe and did again, same result.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-640506705323178032011-02-22T15:18:05.244+13:002011-02-22T15:18:05.244+13:00not to use nickel-titanium, or ugly green leaves, ...not to use nickel-titanium, or ugly green leaves, best single nickel, crystal blue and the background will be ambelancelotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14507947684606657887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-61261032851153628312010-06-19T16:34:10.939+12:002010-06-19T16:34:10.939+12:00Thanks Angie,
The potter as an "inventor"...Thanks Angie,<br />The potter as an "inventor" is well put! There is always something more to understand and discover about the process, or the materials that we use, and this need to look, to think, and to test things makes life more enjoyable, and the world more marvelous!Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-53835919209583933822010-06-18T23:04:55.295+12:002010-06-18T23:04:55.295+12:00Thanks for the excellent explanation ... this mean...Thanks for the excellent explanation ... this means that each potter is a sort of inventor, as his final perfected glaze will be different from any other potters ...Yeah ... that makes you an inventor ... a chemist...and a potter....take a bow sir. lolAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12177505346903016669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-25978353159159211152010-06-18T14:17:17.764+12:002010-06-18T14:17:17.764+12:00Hello Angie,
Lovely to hear from you. I can see th...Hello Angie,<br />Lovely to hear from you. I can see that I will have to do some more work on that last glaze, and see if I can make it grow crystals more successfully!<br /><br />A base glaze is a bit like a very plain cake recipe, that has flour, eggs, baking powder, and sugar. It will make a cake, but a very basic one. If you add cherries to the cake recipe, you have a cherry cake! Or some mixed fruit might turn it into a fruit cake. <br /><br />Glaze base recipes are quite similar to that. On their own the glaze base recipe will make a glaze of some sort, and possibly quite a nice one, but this can also be turned into something else just by adding another ingredient, such as cobalt carbonate, (which will probably make the glaze blue), or some copper carbonate (which might make the glaze green). <br /><br />When testing glazes, it is quite useful to make a largish quantity of a glaze base, and then test measured amounts of it with different extra ingredients added. It saves quite a lot of time in glaze preparation working this way, and is also likely to have greater accuracy. <br /><br />Big hugs,P xxPeterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-84958206501644199172010-06-18T12:36:59.479+12:002010-06-18T12:36:59.479+12:00I love the base glaze with all the crystals . Not ...I love the base glaze with all the crystals . Not being a potter I am not sure whether you put a second glaze on and that is what the other effects are.... or you mix the chemicals with the base to create the new finishes. I love the last colour you achieved but wish there were crystals to see and my other fave is certainly the base coat. take care xxAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12177505346903016669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-82810667878255338512010-06-18T10:35:03.988+12:002010-06-18T10:35:03.988+12:00Hi Jim,
Really nice to hear from you. I guess that...Hi Jim,<br />Really nice to hear from you. I guess that it might be possible to get that nickel green in a glaze base that doesn't run so much. It certainly is an unusual colour, and there is an interesting fleck through it that is probably the result of the titanium content of the glaze base. I don't know if nickel needs a largish quantity of zinc to be in the glaze base to produce that sort of green, or if it will do it anyway at 4 percent. It is a very strange metal that is also capable of producing pink and blue! If you haven't already done it, you might like to try some nickel in one of your glaze bases and see what happens!<br />The only thing I don't like about nickel is its toxicity. It is very nasty and needs to be used with gloves, masks, and care as it is a known carcinogen. Still, the best things in life often have some risk!Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-60094979672855730162010-06-18T03:07:29.513+12:002010-06-18T03:07:29.513+12:00lots of info there... i wish i had the patience. l...lots of info there... i wish i had the patience. love the large crystals on the second one down. i know there's not much going on crystal-wise on the black nickel oxide one but i really love that hue of green.jimhttp://jimgottuso.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-7202984067617892432010-06-15T19:12:17.303+12:002010-06-15T19:12:17.303+12:00Yes Linda, Yellow... It would be really great to g...Yes Linda, Yellow... It would be really great to get it sorted. I feel like an alchemist, trying to make gold from sulpher and mercury!<br /><br />Hello Pat, Apparently the zinc and silica combine in the kiln to make an artificial version of Willemite (Zn2SiO4), which is a naturally occurring mineral. According to the wonderful Wikipedia, Willemite is a highly fluorescent green under shortwave ultraviolet light. It would be fun to see if crystal glazed pots turned green under similar lighting!! <br /><br />How nice that you have had documentaries about NZ South Island birds on your TV. They were probably made by The Natural History Unit, which is based in Dunedin. Sadly, such is the poor state of TV in NZ, we rarely get to see wildlife documentaries here, and the ones that the Unit make are almost all screened offshore!! We do see reruns of Friends here, American Idol, and The Simpsons (which makes for an intriguing cross cultural exchange!).Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-26219468360481249362010-06-15T13:19:48.572+12:002010-06-15T13:19:48.572+12:00The white "base coat" took my breath awa...The white "base coat" took my breath away! What amazing things happen to minerals and chemicals when just the right amount of heat is applied!<br /><br />As another commenter stated, you are having way too much fun! Good! I love the results.<br /><br />Have seen some interesting/fascinating documentaries on TV lately that featured NZ South Island birds and wild life. It's a wondrous place in which you live!Pat - Arkansashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11623638376731374600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-73457775040118783022010-06-15T08:58:14.664+12:002010-06-15T08:58:14.664+12:00The illusive yellow, I hope you find the secret, a...The illusive yellow, I hope you find the secret, a pale yellow with crystals - wouldn't that be something.Linda Starrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04364078667554676592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-39107972183104688242010-06-14T09:47:37.389+12:002010-06-14T09:47:37.389+12:00Hi Tracey,
I think I enjoy having my mind "bo...Hi Tracey,<br />I think I enjoy having my mind "boggled"!! Due mostly to being woken up by the neighbour's dog howling in the chilly night, poor thing..., I was reading some of Frank Hamer's Potters Dictionary last night at 3am about Valency ("the theoretical combining power of the atom" FH) and Double layer theory ("which explains the electrostatic charges on colloidal clay particles whereby particles repel one another..." FH). The things we do!! I am afraid my brain is mostly mush, however, lots of good ideas started, and then they hit an area of marshmallow! The crystal glazes are amazing though, they do make opening the kiln like opening a gift from an eccentric relative who sometimes gives you something beautiful, but other times the contents of the parcel scares you!<br /><br />Hi Linda,<br />The grinding off of crystal glaze runs is not my most favorite occupation, but it is part of the package really! I do the rough part of it with a bench grinder, and finish off with a hand held tool that is more what a model engineer would use (or a mad dentist!!).<br />The nickel glaze with the olive green is fairly horrid at this stage, and behaves very badly. I did something interesting with a nickel glaze that was as bad as that in the series of crystal glazes I did for the exhibition. I found that the nickel glaze over a manganese glaze could do lovely things, even making yellow (just once!!).<br /><br />Tena Koe (Greetings) Armelle,<br />Ka pai (well done!), Nga mihi o te Tau Hou! (Happy New Year!). <br /><br />I look forward to trying the new crystal glazes on some pots now, I think that the two that you mentioned will be really good. The same frit is good for raku too! Amazing really!<br /><br />Ginger is fast asleep in front of the electric heater. She of the pink feet is outside at the moment. It looks like it might snow later today. She of the pink feet has not seen snow yet, so it could be fun!<br /><br />Nga mihi nui (with best wishes)<br /><br />P, L, G & NSPeterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03078608554226394069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-85460252988155138902010-06-14T05:15:31.622+12:002010-06-14T05:15:31.622+12:00I like the white & ivory too, and base plus 3....I like the white & ivory too, and base plus 3.0 red iron oxyde and 1.0 cobalt carbonate is amazing. This ferro frit 3110 makes a satin texture. When I tried to do my tests, I enjoyed this frit you recommanded me, melt with zircon, a beautiful white.<br />May I say you , happy Matariki ?<br /><br />Hi from He of the black feet to She of the pink ones, today he was fiting with a young Ginger, our neighbor!!!<br />Best wishes to you, Laura and GingerArmellehttp://blanc.bleu.over-blog.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-91268153666599087512010-06-13T21:09:36.382+12:002010-06-13T21:09:36.382+12:00Oh I like the white on white almost like purity it...Oh I like the white on white almost like purity itself. What do you do with all those runs, you must have a terrible time grinding all that off? Your testing is amazing. the last olive green is an ususual color.Linda Starrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04364078667554676592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3580639918656230427.post-29590432289116479202010-06-13T11:55:33.787+12:002010-06-13T11:55:33.787+12:00You are enjoying this way too much, I think you m...You are enjoying this way too much, I think you must have been a chemist in a previous life. What a fascinating process, boggles the mind!They are really beautiful though aren't theyTracey Broomehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14560971496423789576noreply@blogger.com