Week 10 Spring 2024

I had a successful week of firing as I was able to get a more adequate thickness of glaze onto my pieces. I did have a few pieces that I refired but they seemed to lose their crystals but they did maintain some blue color in the rim and where the liner glaze interacted with the crystalline glaze. Now that the glaze thickness is cooperating with my forms it is creating a beautiful ombre effect on the bottom of the pieces which interacts really well in natural light. I have been focusing on this black and blue glaze because it creates beautiful blue crystal rings set on top of a black background which tends to be a dynamic blue in thicker areas. It reminds me of jellyfish and I am very excited for how I can continue to develop this glaze and determine the optimal thickness to achieve similar results every firing. It does run a lot which is something I am going to try and research in the coming weeks.

I applied a thin layer of glaze to this piece before refiring it but it did not seem to re seed it enough to grow more crystals through the firing.

I wanted to try and make a piece of glass but since the glaze was not completely dry before the firing began it kind of did a weird crumbly thing.

I was able to achieve almost what I was looking for in the second firing but it was too thin to separate from the catcher lined with a glue, EPK, and alumina hydrate mixture without breaking. Through more tests, I think I would be able to achieve a standalone piece of glass with crystal growth in it.

Below is my first truly successful firing on a cup!

Come back next week for more!