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glaze history

updated fri 28 feb 97

 

ARTMOLIN@ACS.EKU.EDU on fri 14 feb 97

Richard;

Thanks for sharing the 'history' of the Woo Blue glaze, at least as much as
you know. Your explanation of this glaze caused me to pause and send
this message out to everyone on the list about posting glazes with more
information abotu them (beyond cone!). I feel there are some very
relevant and interesting points about glazes we all know and use, and
too often these are left behind. The 'history', or the lineage of
glazes and how we each obtain them is an important apspect to each
glaze we have. I think it might be an intertesting part of glaze
collecting and use if we each had a clearer picture as to where the
glaze originated and how it was changed through time. I was very
curious to see the variations on the Woo Blue, and how these variations
are all part of its' history. Location and the subsequent use of new
materials, as well as one tweeking a glaze to cause it to be more what that
particular person wants, makes this history even more intersting as we
follow it from the beginning to where it now resides.

I say all of this because Clayart is a quick and easy way to collect
formulas, but I'd like to suggest that we each take the time to include
a small dose of information as Richard Aerni has in his psoting of the
Woo Blue blue glaze. In time, we may each own much more than glaze
recipes, we may also own a deeper understanding and appreciation of
those glazes we have as we attemt to use and modify them, therefore
adding to their history.

I am posting Richard's reply at the bottom here for anyone who happened
to miss it.

Thanks,

Joe

*************************************************************
Joe Molinaro INTERNET: artmolin@acs.eku.edu
Department of Art BITNET: artmolin@eku
Eastern Kentucky University VOICE: (606) 622-1634
Richmond, KY 40475
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>Wow! Had to dig deep for this one. This is the recipe for Woo Blue I
>used in Ohio back in 1974. It is for reduction, to be fired to cone 10.
>It went that iron/rutile blue where the application was of medium
>thickness, and where thinner broke brown. It worked well as a base
>glaze, which was then wax resisted and the pot was then dipped into a
>glossy white, which overlay it and broke up a bit.

>My understanding is that the glaze was developed by either Robert or
>Marie Woo, from around the Detroit area. Anyone else know the history?

Richard Burkett on sat 15 feb 97


Thanks, Joe, for urging everyone to include a little history in their
recipe postings. That again is one of the reasons we were interested in
starting the GlazeBase glaze database project - to provide a resource for
future historians who might choose to investigate the history of the more
technical side of ceramics - something that certainly has an effect on the
aesthetics of ceramics. As well as an interesting reminder of the heritage
of the glazes we use.


Richard Burkett - School of Art, SDSU, San Diego, CA 92182-4805
E-mail: richard.burkett@sdsu.edu <-> Voice mail: (619) 594-6201
Home Page: http://rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/rburkett/www/burkett.html
CeramicsWeb: http://apple.sdsu.edu/ceramicsweb/index.html