...it's true, I do think of glazing in this way. It's just that glazing is the hard part; long hours of standing and tediously, but oh so carefully, applying a liquid to a solid which wants to drip, crack off, go every where you don't want it to go...over and over again. Until the kiln is full and you can justify all that electricity to fire it again. If I ever needed music and beer ( or beverage of choice) in the studio, this would be the time. How else to get through this each week? But it's only 10:30 in the morning so I delay the beer part of this equation until later....
Sadly with glazing there are just no shortcuts, each piece has to be given it's due. No playing favorites, no ignoring some and hanging out with others. Otherwise I risk what potter Whitney Smith calls" kiln dread"; the feeling that you rushed/hurried through the glazing and you know it and the kiln knows it. And the kiln never lies; it is such an accurate and telling barometer of my mental and physical state when glazing as to be almost embarrassing.
So, to avoid this unhappy state of being, I must slow down, carefully considering what each piece is calling for. I begin by visualizing possible color and design combinations. I then decide which one fits each piece most pleasingly, and lastly, execute the solution. This takes an enormous amount of brain power, I'll probably be in bed by 7pm tonight ( I'm starting to fantasize already about cozying up to the fire by the bed happily watching the new season of American Idol).
Anyway, the glaze recipe I use the most goes like this (in grams);
Soda Feldspar 38.0
Calcium Carbonate 14.0
Zinc Oxide 12.0
Ball Clay 6.0
Silica 30.
This is just the base; for celadon I add copper, for blue I add cobalt, for yellow, I add red iron oxide... etc. You get the picture. Oh dear, I fear I am over-sharing for you non-potter types. I can just see your eyes glazing over ( no pun intended!)...the proper mixing of glazes is crucial however;
One lazy day last spring I was not at my best and mixed the above recipe COMPLETELY wrong. Ignorant of impending disaster, I happily opened the kiln expecting a full load of beautiful mugs and cups. This is not what stared back at me, no, I had ruined days worth of throwing, trimming, glazing, and firing... I wanted to cry, I really did, but I pulled myself together and like a professional went in my studio and made more. Argggggggg.......
Today's kiln load is lookin' good however, Kodiak the Kiln God must have been appeased with just a pat on the head yesterday. No explosions, no cracked plates, all the handles are still attached to all the mugs, it's a good day!!
After hitting 1,940 degrees sometime last night, the kiln is now at a ready-to-be-unloaded temperature of 130...I plunge in .....(with the help of Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, oh yeah).
See ya' in two days!!
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