Putting a Lid on it, and Decorating with Puddles!

I would like to make a crystalline glazed teapot or two soon. The outside of the teapot would get the crystalline glaze, and the inside would have a good reliable glaze that is more suitable for domestic ware. Glazing a teapot with crystalline glazes is not without some difficulty, as the extremely fluid nature of the glaze when it is at high temperature makes lids, spouts, and handles rather a challenge. It is only too easy to get glaze ending up in the wrong places! I made some lidded jars to help me gain the necessary skills before moving onto glazing teapots. The colour is mostly manganese, but there is a little copper carbonate in there too. You do have to take care with manganese, especially if the glaze calls for a high percentage of it, as the fumes are hazardous. Make sure that area around the kiln is well ventilated.

I like to exploit the runny nature of a crystalline glaze, and try to find ways to allow it to build up into a deep "puddle" somewhere on the pot, that is why I made this vase have such a flattened area between neck and shoulder.

Where this glaze is allowed to pool it gets very dark indeed, then quite pale where it is thinner. It is a case of letting the shape do the decorating!


Thanks for the comments on the last post, I appreciated them. It is interesting to have a glimpse of how things are politically around the world! I thought I had better put this new post up tonight as there are rather strict laws around political advertising and comment around election day in New Zealand. Apparently no "selfies" are allowed in polling booths, and it may be against the law to "tweet" about how you are voting on twitter, in case you influence others! I think there is a $20,000 fine available for such sins. I think we are back to normal again after 7pm tomorrow when voting closes and the counting starts! So, my lips are sealed about the great and powerful until then!