The Many Layers of Kiln Wash: How to Find the Best Kiln Wash for Your Firing Temperature and Methods
Most potters don’t give much thought to kiln wash and just use the recipe they used when they first learned … Read More
Tag: zirconium silicate
ZrSiO4—zircon opacifier—inert dispersoid in glaze melt—low-cost substitute for tin oxide—use double the recipe weight of tin. Includes Zircopax, Opax, Superpax, Ultrox. All are toxic in inhalation. Source: Clay: A Studio Handbook
In the Studio: Yellow Glazes
When fired in oxidation, a small amount of iron oxide (1–5%) gives a honey- or amber-yellow color. Iron oxide in … Read More
Techno File: Opacity: Color and Cost
There are two main opacifiers (one inexpensive, the other costly) commonly used in ceramic glazes. Aside from general opacity, their … Read More
In the Studio: Rare-Earth Oxide Glazes
The rare-earth oxides are not particularly rare, but they can be expensive and have only recently become widely available. They … Read More
Techno File: The Chemistry of Color
Why are some materials transparent and others opaque? Light can be thought of as a beam of light particles called … Read More
Ceramic Stains: The Easy Way to Create All the Colors of the Rainbow on Your Pottery
Nowadays, ceramic artists are spoiled. It wasn’t that long ago that getting the colors and surfaces you wanted took a … Read More
Technofile: Geology for Potters
Rocks
Rocks can be classified into three types: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. The igneous rocks most useful to potters are felsic … Read More
Archive Article: Graze Crawling: Causes and Corrections
If a fired glaze looks like beads of water on a glass tabletop, you’re looking at crawling. The same forces … Read More
Time to Warm Up! 5 Red and Orange Glaze Recipes
After a long brutal winter, spring is hopefully here to stay. So to go with the warming temperatures, I thought … Read More
How to Make Homemade Underglazes
The truth is, I was a nerdy ceramics undergraduate student. I wanted to learn everything, right away -— and I … Read More
