search  current discussion  categories  glazes - traditional iron glazes 

celadon/chun

updated thu 30 dec 99

 

Christine Laginess on mon 27 dec 99

Hi
I am looking for a few good celadon glazes to work with this coming semester.
I am especially interested in blue, blue green, and a non-gray green. I
will be using this over cone 10 b-mix. I would appreciate any good recipes,
and I will be testing them this semester.

Also what is a chun glaze? Are they transparent also?

Thanks as always.

Christine
chris1clay@aol.com

Paul Taylor on tue 28 dec 99

Dear Christine
I have been working on Celedon glazes for nearly thirty years and have
not come up to the standard.
But I can help you with some greens and blue greens.
Firstly you need a reduction firing that will make you ,or rather your
collage, cry with the expense of wasting all that gas. Since flirting with
your tutors is now sexual harassment you will have to persuade them that
this is worth it.
If you have electric kilns - nothing is impossible- but I would give up
now and use the modern oxidize glazes that simulate Celedon; plenty in the
archive -I think ???.
Celedon glazes are made by reducing Iron oxide in an opalescent glaze.
The color is adjusted by the proportions of iron and it's dispersal, and
the amount of titanium found as a trace element in your materials. Since
only you will Know what firing you are using and the materials at your
disposal I can give no more precise advise. "Those Celedon blues" is the
book to read it is a publication from the New york glaze institute. Nigel
Woods book on Chinese glazes should be out by now and If you study how the
glazes were fired with out an imperialistic mind. Put nothing that was done
down to lack of technology or superstition. You will have enough work done
for a Ph-D and have a Celedon glaze.
Chun glazes are much the same as Celedon except they contain
phosphorus (Bone ash) which forms an opalescent which does interesting
things with the light reflecting through it ;Sometimes going blue.
A chemist specializing in crystals and their color effects would save
a lot of time. There are some commercially available Chuns- again for
reduction.
If you want to discuss what you are specifically doing. I will help but
it would be better to do so after you have read the books since then you
will understand more.
For now 85 parts Cornish stone (or75 feldspar+ 10parts silica) 15
parts whiting one part iron ,or less ,oxide. Reduced to a crisp' on a
porcelain will give you a watery start.
Paul Taylor

----------
>From: Christine Laginess
>To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
>Subject: Celadon/chun
>Date: Mon, Dec 27, 1999, 11:58 pm

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi
>I am looking for a few good celadon glazes to work with this coming semester.
> I am especially interested in blue, blue green, and a non-gray green. I
>will be using this over cone 10 b-mix. I would appreciate any good recipes,
>and I will be testing them this semester.
>
>Also what is a chun glaze? Are they transparent also?
>
>Thanks as always.
>
>Christine
>chris1clay@aol.com

Stephen Grimmer on wed 29 dec 99

Christine,
There's a terrific book called "Those Celadon Blues," by Robert Tichane.
He really covers the mechanisms and responses in celadons and chuns (a sort
of sub set of celadon which can be translucent or milky opaque). Another
good source is "Stonware Glazes" by Ian Currie, who wrote several chapters
on iron colored glazes and what makes them tick. These books will give you
the methods to develop your own celadon glazes with the knowledge of how and
why they work.
As a starting point, start with any shiny, clear base glaze that is low
in Magnesia (Talc or Dolomite as low as possible) and add red iron oxide in
the amounts of 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5%. Try it with both standard iron
oxide and then with Spanish Iron and with Yellow Ochre, if you have them.
Try the same with Barnard Slip. Try adding one or two percent tin oxide to
all the above. Substitute the feldspars on a 1:1 basis. Substitute the clay
content with different ball clays and then different Kaolins. What happens
when you use Grolleg? Substitute Wollastonite for whiting. Substitute Barium
Carbonate for Whiting (the usual warnings apply).
If you have glaze calculation software, you can really go to town on
these substitutions.
Happpy Hunting

steve grimmer
marion illinois

----------
>From: Christine Laginess
>To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
>Subject: Celadon/chun
>Date: Mon, Dec 27, 1999, 5:58 PM
>

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi
>I am looking for a few good celadon glazes to work with this coming semester.
> I am especially interested in blue, blue green, and a non-gray green. I
>will be using this over cone 10 b-mix. I would appreciate any good recipes,
>and I will be testing them this semester.
>
>Also what is a chun glaze? Are they transparent also?
>
>Thanks as always.
>
>Christine
>chris1clay@aol.com
>

Tasha Olive on wed 29 dec 99

Paul, you're quite right in stating that there is seemingly no end to the
study of celedons (and most other types of so called "specialty
glazes"---yuck! I hate that term). I feel that I will surely lose my mind
trying to formulate a glaze that I first saw many years ago and of course
still in my "suckling" days as a would be potter. I am still not even sure
what it would be termed--maybe a chun,not sure tho. This glaze was a
translucent (highly-textured, almost hare's-fur looking ) breaking to blue,
green and even violet. Reduction on porcelain is all I know for sure. Very
fluid , lovely. Tony may not be firing on New Year's Eve but as for me if
this old world is going " to pot" :-) then I"ll have to fire as many loads
as I can to find my elusive love!! Any others out there with an obsessive
problem such as this? Tasha
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Taylor
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Tuesday, December 28, 1999 1:58 PM
Subject: Re: Celadon/chun


>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Dear Christine
> I have been working on Celedon glazes for nearly thirty years and
have
>not come up to the standard.
> But I can help you with some greens and blue greens.
> Firstly you need a reduction firing that will make you ,or rather
your
>collage, cry with the expense of wasting all that gas. Since flirting with
>your tutors is now sexual harassment you will have to persuade them that
>this is worth it.
> If you have electric kilns - nothing is impossible- but I would give
up
>now and use the modern oxidize glazes that simulate Celedon; plenty in the
>archive -I think ???.
> Celedon glazes are made by reducing Iron oxide in an opalescent
glaze.
> The color is adjusted by the proportions of iron and it's dispersal, and
>the amount of titanium found as a trace element in your materials. Since
>only you will Know what firing you are using and the materials at your
>disposal I can give no more precise advise. "Those Celedon blues" is the
>book to read it is a publication from the New york glaze institute. Nigel
>Woods book on Chinese glazes should be out by now and If you study how the
>glazes were fired with out an imperialistic mind. Put nothing that was done
>down to lack of technology or superstition. You will have enough work done
>for a Ph-D and have a Celedon glaze.
> Chun glazes are much the same as Celedon except they contain
>phosphorus (Bone ash) which forms an opalescent which does interesting
>things with the light reflecting through it ;Sometimes going blue.
> A chemist specializing in crystals and their color effects would save
>a lot of time. There are some commercially available Chuns- again for
>reduction.
> If you want to discuss what you are specifically doing. I will help
but
>it would be better to do so after you have read the books since then you
>will understand more.
> For now 85 parts Cornish stone (or75 feldspar+ 10parts silica) 15
>parts whiting one part iron ,or less ,oxide. Reduced to a crisp' on a
>porcelain will give you a watery start.
> Paul Taylor
>
>----------
>>From: Christine Laginess
>>To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
>>Subject: Celadon/chun
>>Date: Mon, Dec 27, 1999, 11:58 pm
>
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>Hi
>>I am looking for a few good celadon glazes to work with this coming
semester.
>> I am especially interested in blue, blue green, and a non-gray green. I
>>will be using this over cone 10 b-mix. I would appreciate any good
recipes,
>>and I will be testing them this semester.
>>
>>Also what is a chun glaze? Are they transparent also?
>>
>>Thanks as always.
>>
>>Christine
>>chris1clay@aol.com