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Very briefly this is how my pots are made:
If you would like any further
info' please contact me.
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My throwing
body is a blend of two west country ball clays (Hyplas 71 and Hymod
AT) to which sand, china clay and feldspar are added roughly
6% each w/w. The ingredients all being blunged to a slip before
drying back to plastic clay.
At leather hard stage I often apply dark and light
slips, the dark slip is a local red earthenware clay and the light slip
a mix of Hyplas71 and molochite 200's.
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Glazing
My pots are glazed using natural materials such as stone dusts and wood ashes. These 'unrefined' ingredients, and the decorative effects of wood firing, give my pots their rich
earthy surfaces. I use a two chamber climbing kiln which is fired about
8 times a year holding roughly 1000 pots each time. It uses about 1.5 cords of wood to fire
the kiln over 20 hours of stoking to reach 1320°c ( heavy reduction from 1000°
upwards).
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The standard wood ash glaze
is based on the classic 221. That is to say 2 pts wood ash, 2pts
potash feldspar (or any feldspatic rock) and 1 pt clay. The depth
of green can be enhanced by adding a little iron. Add enough and
the glaze will go to a beer bottle brown. |
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The granite glaze is very
similar to the standard wood ash glaze. However, as suggested the
potash feldspar has been substituted with granite dust. The higher
iron content brings the glaze from green to brown but the biggest change
is in the surface quality of the glass. |
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The black glaze is
formulated from River Parrett silt wood ash and local red clay in equal
parts, By happy chance this simple formulation makes a very
good black glaze giving an orange peel texture where applied thickly and
breaking to brown where the glaze runs thin over edges. |
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The basalt glaze is the same as the
granite glaze except basalt has been use in the place of granite.
Its a promising new glaze but far from finished. |
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Basalt glaze over dark and light
slips. |
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| Firing |
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