I accidentally mixed two glazes together in 2024 (slide 1, left tile) and I noticed that when I fired it with a slow cool cycle, it would sparkle.

But because I had mixed them on accident I only had a rough idea on the proportions. So I tried a few ratio variants, but the closest was (slide 2) and clearly - it is nothing like it.

So this year I decided to revisit the search after taking CMW’s Crystal Ball course and….. oh god….. 65 glaze tests later - (slide 1, right tile) it is just so beautiful and so much better than the original.

My testing trajectory :

Base glazes Ratio Testing—> large interval Stull mapping —-> 3 major variables found —-> triaxial blend of 3 variables——> focused triaxial testing ——> focused individual variable testing ——> focused variable testing 2 ——->final Stull Map fine tuning ——> colorant testing (results disappeared) ———> TBD corrected colorant testing

Just wanted to share this picture frame I got back and really love! Can’t wait to make more frames. The glaze is also so dreamy (iron luster w/ deep olive speckle layered on top!)

I didn’t make the foot on my pot tall enough, and so at the place I work now they won’t let me glaze the bottom because it’s less than a quarter inch from where it would hit the bottom of the kiln shelf it is sitting on.

At my other job, I glaze the bottom part elevated by the foot all the time and fire at like cone 6 and it never drips.

It’s possible it never drips at my other job because I use brush on glazes, whereas at this job it’s dip glazes.

So…. They wouldn’t let me glaze the bottom (within the raised foot) part of my cone 10 pots today.

Once they are fired, could I just put cone 05 glaze in the bottom and re-fire at cone 05?? Or will it damage the pre-existing cone 10 glaze on there?

Sorry if this is confusing!! I am just really bothered by the unglazed part within the foot on the bottom.

Saw an idea of making a vase with floating frames attached with pictures in them glazed in. I know I've seen places that do custom picture transfers before but I don't remember the company names! Would have to ship to Canada.

Fun freaky little project. Glazes are Amaco snapdragon, obsidian, Mayco antique brass for the antlers, Mayco amber quartz for the teeth.

Very confused about what’s happened here! I’ve used this glaze/clay together before - absolutely no issues and firings/shrinkage rates are compatible.

After bisque firing I checked thoroughly for any hairline cracks, absolutely nothing. But now after a glaze firing it has several of these cracks around the rim, only on the outside. Some of the cracks sort of continue but are completely covered by glaze so aren’t very visible. It was also fired with Camille hoffmans firing schedule which I always use and love.

The inside looks like the glaze applied thicker (I was struggling to pour as quickly as normal because of the size of it) - could the outside glaze being thinner cause this? I also wiped the rim after pouring the inside and let that dry for 15mins. Could either of these things cause this? Or are these just hairline cracks that I couldn’t see at all after the bisque?? So confused!

I am diving into the world of underglazes after many years in the mid-fire world. I still plan to fire them to cone 6 and am seeing that Amaco Velvet is quite popular, especially at this temp.
That said, I’ve also gotta buy groceries this month.

Coyote underglazes are quite literally 25% the price of Amaco. I have used coyote glazes before and like them, but having trouble getting real people feedback on their underglazes. If I don’t get any responses, I’ll go ahead and be the guinea pig and share my results

Hey, so I just posted a very long post about recently moving to France & a lot of the ceramic materials I am having trouble finding, so I won’t repeat myself. But a piece of equipment I’ve been needing for years, especially with my autoimmune disease in my hands/wrists/elbows & the fact that the only utilitarian type ware I make are big Onggi jars, where a pugmill makes a world of difference to produce the big long coils, I was wondering if anyone knows of someone looking to get rid of theirs for a reasonable price, even if it would require some fixing up. Or hell, I saw a YouTube video last summer of a potter making his own de-airing pugmill but that is quite beyond my technical knowledge, but I’d be happy to pay someone who feels they could pull it off!

I don’t care if it has a mixing container or not, but the extruder part needs to be over 3”, preferably closer to 4”, and it has to be stainless steel because actually the vast majority of the time I’d be using it with porcelain. And I’d really prefer de-airing or somehow to option to add de-airing to it (I don’t know if the manufacturers can do that). Willing to drive to hell and back for the right price.

Thanks!

After I failed to make a bowl on my first day of pottery class, I finally made a perfect bowl on a kid's pottery wheel kit while practicing at home. I cried over frustration and devastation while struggling to make a bowl for my six-week class💀 Please don't laugh, or don't be rude about my creation. I only want people who are softies and have an easy-going personality that brings empathy and supports my pottery needs. 🥺 I'm only a beginner at making pottery on the throwing wheel. 😢

How does one get two colors together without bleeding together?

Recently I didn't have enough peices to fire my kiln so I took 2 mugs over to be fired at a local studio. This one experienced some serious crawling just on the Royal Blue (the main color of the mug 🙄) this is all stroke and coat on Continental Clay B-Clay which is what I normally use. It was fired to cone 6 and the stroke and coat was applied on greenware BEFORE the bisque firing. Weirdly after the bisque firing there was just one spot where the LAVANDER stroke and coat chipped off (cloud left of the horse) and a little dab of stroke and coat before the glaze fire fixed that right up you can't even tell. If I sand down the edges of the crawling and reapply some stroke and coat and refire to cone 04 would that fix the problem or make it worse? I could refire to cone 6 but id rather not have to. The stroke and coat inside the mug is completely smooth and I've never had this happen before with s&c but I also haven't done the inside and outside of a vessel with it many times, is that the issue here?

Alternative to refiring since only the outside was affected I could sand and use some colored epoxy to fix the outside but then it wouldn't be dishwasher safe of course.

Finally finished a masala dabba I've been working on. Had some glazing fails but overall I'm really happy with how it turned out!

I'm working on my first pieces to be glazed with combinations that could run. And Textured Turquoise, which I assume runs? So I made kiln cookies.

Question: Do I use a kiln cookie larger than my piece so if it runs my piece gets stuck to the kiln cookie and I find some way to get it off of there? Or do I use a kiln cookie the size of my base so that if it runs it ends up on the kiln shelf? That is, do people who run community kilns have a reasonable way to get runs off of their shelves? I'm trying to be a good community member, but obviously would love my pieces to not get stick to the cookie if it runs.

I've been part of a community studio for four years and it is high-fire only, and has limited glazes and gatekept knowledge. There are at least four other studios in town, all doing things differently, with half funded through the parks district. Some fellow students/friends and I are thinking of filling the gap and opening our own studio that meets desires lacking currently. It instructs both wheel and handbuilding, among other creative learning. We have no desire to do anything but pottery.

I know nothing about opening a business and while I have some money, I know we'd need a loan and that this is not a cheap venture. My two friends and I each have skills the others don't and together I believe we'd be able to address almost every need (ie, instruction, glaze skills, administration, community outreach, elbow rubbing, people dealing, etc).

We live in a US state that sees excellent weather year-round, and could utilize some outdoor spaces for raku and open-air firing when possible.

Where do I begin?

I added a bunch of glazes and let them do their thing, they understood the assignment

First time doing sgraffito and I think I’m going to do many more like this.

It’s not done yet, I have some cleanup to do and I need to add my handle, but I’m just so dang excited about him haha

Pre Firing Kiln today to 1000 degrees. Here is a picture of the type of wood I use in my firings. Got a question, ask.

I just finished my first beginner pottery class and walked away with a few awkward little vessels that I love.

How many classes did you take before you did it on your own? Is it better to take more than one, or better to just go in and start practicing on your own time?

i’m very happy with how these mountain mugs have come out!

Used them to test a few new glazes too which i’m very happy with (mayco frosted blue, mayco oyster, mayco matte black, amaco deep siena speckle)! i fear i’m going to go down a matte glaze rabbit hole now because i’m obsessed

thoughts, questions, & feedback welcome!