Stephani Stephenson on wed 3 may 00
Rod, Marian, and Holly Morris
Yes you can single fire low fire work. I often single fire to cone 04.
I use a body with a fair amount of grog. It has good green strength. My
work is not thin or fragile. I glaze bone dry ware, not leatherhard. I
use glazes that are somewhat thicker in consistency ( i.e. less water)
than they would be if I were glazing bisqueware. I apply one coat. I
pour, brush and also spray glazes on greenware. When I paint, I use a
brush that can hold a lot of glaze and keep a nice viscous pool moving
across the surface, a fluid pulling motion rather than hen scratch
strokes. I dip flat ware, such as the surfaces of relief tile. When
glazing the inside of a form don't let the glaze sit (set?) and soak too
long , especially when the vessel/form must bear the weight of liquid
glaze. You can do it, but it takes practice. . I usually move the work
immediately after glazing or let it sit and dry in place. Seems like
there's a period of time, maybe five- ten minutes after glazing, when
the ware is weaker. Not sure it 's a fact, but it seems that way.
If your clay body is just too troublesome, try another , more open
body. If you are having difficulty, practice on a few, simple sturdy
forms first, to see if it is worth your while.
sincerely
Stephani Stephenson
mudmistress@earthlink.net
www.alchemiestudio.com
Martin Howard on thu 4 may 00
Thanks Stephani. Good to hear from other single firers.
Have you had the experience of glazing when the top part of the ware is dry,
but the bottom is still a different colour?
With me, within a minute, the top part cracked to pieces.
What I cannot be sure of is whether it was the glaze itself that was the
trouble, not enough clay in it, or just differential contraction because I
had not waited for the jugs to become bone dry.
Have you, or anyone, actually worked out seger formulae for once fire glazes
and compared them with the limits for twice fired glazes at the same cone?
Martin Howard
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
England
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
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