Cone 6 Glazes WITHOUT Gertsley Borate?

You are getting some very nice results with those cone 6 glazes. I
especially like the waterfall brown over licorice, and bright blue
over licorice. You might try the licorice over the bone as an
experiment. Excellent work for only a year and a half, and even for 4
to 5 years. I don't remember making anything decent looking for quite
a few years.

"dkat" wrote in message et...
It is not becoming for a woman of my age to feel .... well ... green with
envy and jealousy.... Those are really lovely and it is really impossible to
believe that you have just been doing this a year plus.

The reduction pieces brought back many memories.

Thank you.

"Bert Gibson" wrote in message
news:saQJc.104364$Oq2.58773@attbi_s52...
Hi dkat,

That's how I started. Frustrated with the firing results at school, I
bought
an electric kiln and "MC6G". Before that I had never mixed glazes or fired
a
kiln. It took alot of work and alot of trial and error but I have finally
started seeing it pay off. Since you already have experience in glazes and
firing, I am sure that you won't have the amount of issues to overcome
that
I did. Check out my site for some results and let me know what you think.
Just keep in mind I have only been potting for about a year and a half.

Bert Gibson
http://home.comcast.net/~lazybpottery/





"dkat" wrote in message
. ..
Just curious how people are doing on coming up with glazes without
Gertsley
Borate. Does anyone have a favorite out of the "Mastering Cone 6
Glazes"
book? All of the glazes we use in the studio I have worked in are based
on
the various Gertsley formulas. The glazes I like are the Randy's Red,
Honey, and the copper glazes that can't be used on the inside of pots
(Pennels with Erins green)...

I have just bought an electric kiln and have "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" .
I
was schooled in reduction ^8-10 and am more than a tad nervous about the
whole endeavor of oxidation firings at cone 6. To me even the Gertsley
Borate glazes often look flat with oxidation ^6. My favorite glazes
that
I
learned on were Albany slip with rutile oxide decorations, the iron
based
celadon when it went blue sea green, and Shino. I do not want to carry
on
the error of using GB. I'm working in a very small space and don't
really
want to buy more that a half dozen bags of ingredients. In any case I
can't
seem to kick start myself into beginning. I find that even though I
used
to
make up our glazes for reduction firings that I don't know what silica
to
use for the base glazes out of MC6G... We never used silica as the
ingredient "Silica" and my catalogs don't have anything listed in that
form
that appears to be a glaze ingredient. Now I have given much more
information that anyone cares to read or is interested in..... Mostly
I'm
looking for some kind of nudge to get me in gear.

Thanks Brad. I will be glad when my throwing skills match my glazing
results. You know in a picture you can't tell how small or heavy the pot
actually is. At least the confidence in my glazing and firing helps keep me
motivated when I start getting frustated at the wheel.

My last firing I tried that combination. I got a very dark green color. The
licorice wasn't applied thick enough to give much flow down the sides of the
bowl, but the results were enough to make me want to try it again.

Bert Gibson

Brad Panek wrote:
You are getting some very nice results with those cone 6 glazes. I
especially like the waterfall brown over licorice, and bright blue
over licorice. You might try the licorice over the bone as an
experiment. Excellent work for only a year and a half, and even for 4
to 5 years. I don't remember making anything decent looking for quite
a few years.

"dkat" wrote in message
et...
It is not becoming for a woman of my age to feel .... well ... green
with envy and jealousy.... Those are really lovely and it is really
impossible to believe that you have just been doing this a year plus.

The reduction pieces brought back many memories.

Thank you.

"Bert Gibson" wrote in message
news:saQJc.104364$Oq2.58773@attbi_s52...
Hi dkat,

That's how I started. Frustrated with the firing results at school,
I
bought
an electric kiln and "MC6G". Before that I had never mixed glazes
or fired
a
kiln. It took alot of work and alot of trial and error but I have
finally started seeing it pay off. Since you already have
experience in glazes and firing, I am sure that you won't have the
amount of issues to overcome
that
I did. Check out my site for some results and let me know what you
think. Just keep in mind I have only been potting for about a year
and a half.

Bert Gibson
http://home.comcast.net/~lazybpottery/





"dkat" wrote in message
. ..
Just curious how people are doing on coming up with glazes without
Gertsley
Borate. Does anyone have a favorite out of the "Mastering Cone 6
Glazes"
book? All of the glazes we use in the studio I have worked in are
based
on
the various Gertsley formulas. The glazes I like are the Randy's
Red, Honey, and the copper glazes that can't be used on the inside
of pots (Pennels with Erins green)...

I have just bought an electric kiln and have "Mastering Cone 6
Glazes" .
I
was schooled in reduction ^8-10 and am more than a tad nervous
about the whole endeavor of oxidation firings at cone 6. To me
even the Gertsley Borate glazes often look flat with oxidation ^6.
My favorite glazes
that
I
learned on were Albany slip with rutile oxide decorations, the iron
based
celadon when it went blue sea green, and Shino. I do not want to
carry
on
the error of using GB. I'm working in a very small space and don't
really
want to buy more that a half dozen bags of ingredients. In any
case I
can't
seem to kick start myself into beginning. I find that even though
I
used
to
make up our glazes for reduction firings that I don't know what
silica
to
use for the base glazes out of MC6G... We never used silica as the
ingredient "Silica" and my catalogs don't have anything listed in
that
form
that appears to be a glaze ingredient. Now I have given much more
information that anyone cares to read or is interested in.....
Mostly
I'm
looking for some kind of nudge to get me in gear.

I set up a page with my test tiles from "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes". These
were done a year or so ago. This was a "hot"cone 6 firing and I was learning
about mixing and applying glazes so they are not the best results. Three
different clays were used: white, buff, and a dark in that order as you look
at the screen.

Bert Gibson
http://home.comcast.net/~mc6gtest

I think your purple is very attractive - a nice modification of the
raspberry.

- Kobey

Bert Gibson wrote:
Hi dkat,

That's how I started. Frustrated with the firing results at school, I bought
an electric kiln and "MC6G". Before that I had never mixed glazes or fired a
kiln. It took alot of work and alot of trial and error but I have finally
started seeing it pay off. Since you already have experience in glazes and
firing, I am sure that you won't have the amount of issues to overcome that
I did. Check out my site for some results and let me know what you think.
Just keep in mind I have only been potting for about a year and a half.

Bert Gibson
http://home.comcast.net/~lazybpottery/





"dkat" wrote in message
. ..

Just curious how people are doing on coming up with glazes without

Gertsley

Borate. Does anyone have a favorite out of the "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes"
book? All of the glazes we use in the studio I have worked in are based

on

the various Gertsley formulas. The glazes I like are the Randy's Red,
Honey, and the copper glazes that can't be used on the inside of pots
(Pennels with Erins green)...

I have just bought an electric kiln and have "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" .

I

was schooled in reduction ^8-10 and am more than a tad nervous about the
whole endeavor of oxidation firings at cone 6. To me even the Gertsley
Borate glazes often look flat with oxidation ^6. My favorite glazes that

I

learned on were Albany slip with rutile oxide decorations, the iron based
celadon when it went blue sea green, and Shino. I do not want to carry on
the error of using GB. I'm working in a very small space and don't really
want to buy more that a half dozen bags of ingredients. In any case I

can't

seem to kick start myself into beginning. I find that even though I used

to

make up our glazes for reduction firings that I don't know what silica to
use for the base glazes out of MC6G... We never used silica as the
ingredient "Silica" and my catalogs don't have anything listed in that

form

that appears to be a glaze ingredient. Now I have given much more
information that anyone cares to read or is interested in..... Mostly I'm
looking for some kind of nudge to get me in gear.

Dear Bert,

You were wise to test on different bodies and your site is a very good one; and
particularly good to direct people to who are just starting out on glazing and
could benefit from seeing the variations in the different clay bodies, as well
as your combinations.
I tested the spearmint and mine came out looking a lot like yours and nothing
like the book, where it looks like a soft, lovely green. My test was done on a
white stoneware. I don't like the green, as it turned out, but liked it as it
is shown in the book. I should ask Ron if that picture is representative of the
fired result.
At times, with certain glazes, I have tested them on 3 or 4 bodies (particular
transparent glazes, chuns,etc.) and the color was different on each one. Even
porcelain and white stoneware can give quite different results.
Viewing your tests one can clearly see why the old adage "Glazes don't travel
well" applies.
People often don't realize that the claybody selection can make a vast
difference in the color of the glaze, as well as other factors, i.e. the water
used, firing time, firing conditions, raw materials used,etc..
You're doing very, very well for someone only throwing a year and a half! You
either had a great teacher or practiced a lot or have done this in a past life
or one or more of the above! LOL

Warmest regards,
June
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery/

Their FAQ page on MC6G states

" 6. I am having trouble with glazes like Bone and Spearmint turning out a
yucky yellowish and yellowish-green respectively. Any ideas?
Yes. Several people have had this problem. In every case so far we have
traced it to rutile that is different from ours or, in the case of
Spearmint, to using a non-white clay body. Try replacing the 6% rutile with
about 5% titanium dioxide (rutile is an ore from whiich TiO2 is extracted)
and your colors will probably be closer to ours. "

but the book seems to suggest that it is more an issue of rate of cooling in
this case (time necessary for the crystals to form to give a matt finish).
It very much looks like the difference in the slate blue example under
firing rate http://www.masteringglazes.com/Pages/faqframe.html

I like how the green on Bert's page looks as well as the one in MC6G (that
is - I like them both).


"ShantiP1" wrote in message
...
Dear Bert,

You were wise to test on different bodies and your site is a very good
one; and
particularly good to direct people to who are just starting out on glazing
and
could benefit from seeing the variations in the different clay bodies, as
well
as your combinations.
I tested the spearmint and mine came out looking a lot like yours and
nothing
like the book, where it looks like a soft, lovely green. My test was done
on a
white stoneware. I don't like the green, as it turned out, but liked it as
it
is shown in the book. I should ask Ron if that picture is representative
of the
fired result.
At times, with certain glazes, I have tested them on 3 or 4 bodies
(particular
transparent glazes, chuns,etc.) and the color was different on each one.
Even
porcelain and white stoneware can give quite different results.
Viewing your tests one can clearly see why the old adage "Glazes don't
travel
well" applies.
People often don't realize that the claybody selection can make a vast
difference in the color of the glaze, as well as other factors, i.e. the
water
used, firing time, firing conditions, raw materials used,etc..
You're doing very, very well for someone only throwing a year and a half!
You
either had a great teacher or practiced a lot or have done this in a past
life
or one or more of the above! LOL

Warmest regards,
June
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery/

I tested it on a white stoneware and used ceramic grade rutile. When I get time
I'll make another test with light rutile. I also fired down, so it wasn't the
firing or the claybody.

Regards,
June
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery/

What does "fired down" mean? I am assuming that the ceramic grade rutile as
all rutile has iron in it. Is that correct?
"ShantiP1" wrote in message
...
I tested it on a white stoneware and used ceramic grade rutile. When I get
time
I'll make another test with light rutile. I also fired down, so it wasn't
the
firing or the claybody.

Regards,
June
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery/

I think she means she controlled the rate of cooling. The key to success
with John and Ron's glazes is slow cooling. From 1900F down to 1500F they
suggest a temperature drop of about 125 degrees per hour.

Bert Gibson


D Kat wrote:
What does "fired down" mean? I am assuming that the ceramic grade
rutile as all rutile has iron in it. Is that correct?
"ShantiP1" wrote in message
...
I tested it on a white stoneware and used ceramic grade rutile. When
I get time I'll make another test with light rutile. I also fired
down, so it wasn't the firing or the claybody.

Regards,
June
http://www.angelfire.com/art2/shambhalapottery/

--
"Bert Gibson" wrote in message
news:GpRKc.132802$XM6.76853@attbi_s53...
I think she means she controlled the rate of cooling. The key to success
with John and Ron's glazes is slow cooling. From 1900F down to 1500F they
suggest a temperature drop of about 125 degrees per hour.

Bert Gibson


D Kat wrote:
What does "fired down" mean? I am assuming that the ceramic grade
rutile as all rutile has iron in it. Is that correct?
"ShantiP1" wrote in message
...
I tested it on a white stoneware and used ceramic grade rutile. When
I get time I'll make another test with light rutile. I also fired
down, so it wasn't the firing or the claybody.

Regards,
June

Bert and all:
Ron and John have come up with a new firing schedule, based on various
kiln manufacturers observations that slow cooling can reduce the life of
electric
kiln elements. The new firing schedule is posted on their website.
I didn't really pay much attention, since I fire cone 10, but it was a
fairly
recent Clayart thread. Sure would like to get the same
colors at ^10 that you all get at ^6 :)

Wayne Seidl
Key West, Florida, USA
North America, Terra
Latitude 81.45W, Longitude 24.33N
Elevation 3.1 feet (1m)