This is the first of probably many posts dealing with my experiments. This series began because I had been reading about some ceramic materials and wondered what would happen if … so I experimented with some little pieces I had on hand. Temoku glaze tends to be stable and predictable, and is one of my staples. Side note - most of these happened to go through one of Jayson Lawfer’s firings for heavy reduction firing and reduction cooling. Here are my results.

Sauce dish and tiny dish. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Whiting sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1h, 2.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. Whiting serves as a flux in glazes, so it seemed like a good pick. The whiting came out very dry but can be brushed away with water, leaving a dry pitted surface and some very opaque glaze. I may be able to modify this, mix whiting with water and brush it on rather than sprinkling, but this experiment didn’t knock my socks off, so I’m letting it go for now.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Frit3134 sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w; 2h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. Another ceramic artist told me Ferro Frit 3134 is nice to work with. I knew it would melt, but didn’t know how it’d look. I used varying amounts of frit; while a little bit does the job, a lot isn’t too much. The frit melted and ran down, making a puddle that resembles an oil slick. This has potential, especially if there are places for glaze to pool.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Bone ash sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 2h, 2.5w, 3.5l; 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. I don’t remember why I thought this would be a good idea, and I had no idea what would happen. This piece had the least sprinkled on. The bone ash wasn’t all absorbed into the glaze, it showed a lot of potential. I love the crusty surface, and it appeared to be very stable when hit with soda. I’ve applied it on four pieces since then with success on three - the fourth is in the kiln and cooling as I type. Look for an update soon.

Two bowls and a sauce dish. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Bone ash sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 2h, 4.5w, 4l; 2h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Individual shot. Granular nickel has the ability to form crystals. What couldn’t be cool about that? So I sprinkled some on (I tried to sprinkle on wet glaze, but sometimes had to spray the glaze with water to get my materials to stick). A little goes a long way; too much gives a crusty metallic surface. That might be good for sculpture but the same effect can probably be gotten with glaze, too.

Macro shot. Where it was applied lightly, I did get some neat little crystal formations. I don’t know how I’ll use it, but this is pretty cool.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Titanium dioxide sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1.5h, 3.5w, 4l; 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. Titanium dioxide is the primary component of rutile, which has been a favorite colorant for years - an obvious choice for this experiment. The crystals don’t surprise me and is something I’ve seen before with my Woo Blu slowly cooled. Some of the powder sprinkled on in fine clumps; they melted but didn’t really move. Most of the surface was smooth and glossy; the titanium in combination with iron in the temoku yielded a golden color, deepened by reduction, but creamy in some places. As with the bone ash, the thickness of application seemed to be an easily solved problem. For my next applications I mixed some titanium dioxide with water and brushed it onto the rim of a tall vessel and into huge bowl.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Soda ash sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1.5h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. I know soda ash is a flux - we use it in the kiln! Applying it directly to a glaze ensures that it goes where I want it. The pool at the bottom does get a greenish tinge to it.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Helmar slip over porcelainous stoneware with incised drawing. Granulated nickel brushed over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1.5h, 3.5w, 4l; 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Individual shot. Because the nickel had potential last time, I mixed some with water and brushed swirls onto more pieces. It turned out well.

Macro shot. The gold flecking is from soda hitting the piece. Very nice.

Backside of the above. Really pretty inky black.

Macro shot. This is nice too.