Crystalline glazes have very delicately balanced compositions. Small changes to the raw meterials, kiln firing conditions and the porcelain body over which they are used can create very different result. I find that a glaze that has been out of use for several years will seldom work immediately: conditions will have drifted slightly and the effect has been lost. With my working glazes, I constantly adjust the composition to account for changes.
In June 2023 I have concentrated on bringing back into production several of my older pale green and golden glazes with good results. My custom porcelain, used fo rthe first time to made lidded jars has yeilded a different effecrt to that produced by my usual porcelain body. I have also returned to a technique that I used in my first years as a potter: assembling forms from separate pieces.
Gold and Green
Golden crystals are set on a pale green opaque ground varigated with small secondary crystals.
I made several pieces with this glaze in 2020 but after a change in the porcelain body (Royale) the glaze stopped working well. For 2023 I have modified it slightly to work on my custom porcelain number 53. This I make myself from basic ingredients. It incorporates uses both china clay and ball clay to give a porcelain particularly suitable to my glazes.
Details
Code: CN7
Year:2023
Height: 180mm
Porcelain: TP053
Glaze code: 7020_585_7332
Pale green on cream
The colours of this glaze are delicately balanced. I aim for a primary crystal that is a very pale green as in this example. Tiny changes to the porcelain body can cause the colour to turn either brown or blue. The ground in this case is an opaque cream set with many small secondary crystals and finished off with an iron red neck. The porcelain is TP057 which is Royale porcelain to which I have added a fine grog and flocculant.
Details
Code: CNU
Year: 2023
Height: 175mm
Porcelain TP057.
Glaze code: 8301
Tan and Pale Green
A quiet, subtle combination of colours. The ground is complex set with tiny secondary crystals that change their character towards the bottom giving a balance between foot and neck that is especially pleasing.
Details
Code: CNY
Year: 2023
Height: 185mm
Porcelain: TP057
Glaze code: 8311
Lidded Jar
The carving on this lidded jar is emphasised by the powerful effect it has on crystal formation. Not only do the vertical and horizontal lines create two completely different types of surface, they separate to zones of crystal formation above and below. There is only one crystalline glaze on this piece but its character changes completely above and below the carving.
Details
Code: CPT
Year: 2023
Height: 175mm
Porcelain: TP066
Composite Form
When I started throwing large forms from porcelain in the late 1990s, I lacked the skill to make the body and neck in one piece. I have returned to this technique for a different reason. This piece was thrown in two pieces, neck and body, to allow a greater emphasis between the components.
Details
Code: CP1
Year:2023
Height: 310mm
Porcelain: TP041
Cereal Bowl
Cereal bowls were a recent special comission. I made extra, expecting some to fail, but unusually for crystalline glazed pieces, all were fine. This one was used to test the same glaze as used on CN7. It is a different porcelain and the crystals colour moved towards blue. The inside uses a new vairant of my foodsafe utility glaze, this time opacified with tin oxide. The tin glaze blends well with the crystalline and is posessed of a softness that cannot be matched by harsh zirconium whites.
Details
Year: 2023
Rim diameter: 180mm
Foot diameter: 85mm
Height: 75mm
Porcelain: Glacier.