Current Glazes in Use
Notes on Glazing – A handout on glazing. Below are the recipes currently in use. The salt kiln is fired to cone ten with a neutral atmosphere. The stoneware kiln also goes to cone ten, with a variable reduction schedule, depending on the predominant glazes in the stack. (I do a HEAVY early reduction for shino firings, otherwise I follow a pretty standard cycle.)
Resources on Glazing – A listing of resource materials I have found helpful in learning about glazing, plus information on how to have glazes tested for safety.
Cone Ten Reduction Glazes formulated for use on bisque pots
Shaner Red – formulated by David Shaner (I got this version from Elizabeth Krome)
527 Potash Feldspar
40 Talc
250 Kaolin
40 Bone Ash
213 Whiting
60 Red Iron Oxide
2% Bentonite
Ken’s Black – Ken Fischer found this recipe in an old Ceramics Monthly
68 Alberta Slip
32 Neph Synite
4.5% Cobalt Carbonate
Chots’ Chun – formulated by Chots Levenson
7.73 Ball Clay (OM4)
30.96 Custer Spar
14.01 Wood Ash
31.54 Silica (200 mesh)
13.11 Whiting
2.65 Talc
Red Iron Oxide .75%
Bentonite 2%
Notes: Versatile, mixes well with other glazes. Fires in wide temperature & atmosphere range, but looks best in strong heat and reduction.
Chots’ Blue Ash – formulated by Chots Levenson
6.8 Ball Clay (OM4)
27.3 Custer Spar
18.7 Wood Ash
33.6 Silica (200 mesh)
13.6 Whiting
Red Iron Oxide .75%
Cobalt Carb .35%
Manganese .25%
Bentonite 2%
Saturated Iron Res Red Glaze – formulated by Chots Levenson
5.2 Ball Clay (OM4)
8.77 Dolomite
56 G-200 Feldspar
7 Silica (200 Mesh)
15.8 Bone Ash
7 Red Iron Oxide
Bentonite 2%
Silky Grey – formulated by Chots Levenson
6.3 Gerstley Borate
5.6 Dolomite
50.9 Neph Sy
3.9 Kaolin
15 Talc
18.3 Silica (200 mesh)
bentonite 2%
Colonial Green – from Chuck Brome
43.0 G-200 Feldspar
12.5 Gerstley Borate
21.0 Dolomite
4.7 EPK
19.0 Silica
Plus .16% (.0016) Chrome Oxide
.33% (.0033) Cobalt Carbonate
1% Bentonite
Sand Matte – from John Britt’s The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes
40 Feldspar (I use Custar)
25 EPK
30 Dolomite
5 Natural Bone Ash
3% Bentonite
White Glaze – formulated by Chots Levenson
7.8 OM4 Ball Clay
20.6 Silica
12.4 Gerstley Borate
44.1 F-4 Feldspar
15.1 Talc
2% Bentonite
Carbon Trap Orange Shino – from Studio Pottery Magazine June 2002
40.0 Neph Synite
15.0 OM4
13.0 F4 Soda Spar
12.0 Soda Ash
8.0 EPK
9.0 Spodumene
3.0 Cedar Heights Redart
(I add 2% Bentonite – not in original recipe)
Penn State Shino – from Liz Willoughby, cited in Studio Pottery Magazine June 2002
14.6 Neph Synite
7.8 Soda ash
9.7 EPK (I use Avery Kaolin)
14.9 OM4
34.0 F4 Soda Spar
29.0 Spodumene
Notes: I initially transcribed this recipe incorrectly from the magazine, with the OM4 at 14.9 instead of the original 4.9. Having tried it both ways, I prefer the higher clay version. It requires a very hot, dirty firing to look good, but also it holds up well in multi-day super hot wood kilns.
Shino Ash Wash – from Sylvia Dales
70 Potash Feldspar (G-200)
30 Wood Ash
Bentonite 2%
Notes: Used as VERY thin wash, dipped, brushed or sprayed over shino, this mix promotes carbon trapping and can give the look of wood firing.
Salting Slips – formulated for cone ten salt firing – apply to leather hard exteriors or to bisqued work by spraying, dipping, or brushing.
A = Avery Orange — from Ruggles/Rankin
80 Avery
20 Neph Synite
2% Bentonite
B = Nan’s Brown
3 Dolomite
30 Red Art
33 Kaolin (I use Avery)
33 G-200 Feldspar
2% Bentonite
C = Nan’s Brown (Avery plus Newmans Red)
80 Avery
20 Neph Synite
16% Newmans Red
2% Bentonite
D = Micki’s Brown – from Micki Schloessingk
62.5 Grolleg Kaolin
12.5 Custar Feldspar
12.5 Silica
12.5 Red Art Clay
8% Tin
2% Bentonite
E = Nan’s Blue – originally from Mary Nyberg with alterations by Nan
25 Neph Synite
20 Ball Clay
20 Kaolin
30 Silica
5 Murray’s Borate (a gerstley borate substitute from Kickwheel Pottery Supply)
2% Cobalt Carbonate
3.5% Bentonite
G = Nan’s Blue/Black Slip (not reliable on bisque)
32 Kaolin
43 G-200 Feldspar
20 Redart Clay
5 Dolomite
1% Rutile
1% Cobalt carbonate
2% Bentonite
H = Toff’s Blue Slip – from Toff Milway
25 Ball Clay
25 Potash Feldspar
25 Soda Feldspar
25 Silica
1% Cobalt Oxide
1% Red iron Oxide
.5% Manganese
2.5% Bentonite
J = Brown – originally from Ben Little
24 EPK / Kaolin
24 Ball Clay (I use OM4)
24 Silica
12.5 Custar Feldspar
12.5 Nepheline Syenite
3 Frit 3195
2% Bentonite
Plus 15% Newmans Red
Interior Liner Glazes for Salt (can be applied raw, leather-hard pots)
Apple Green Celadon – modified by Nan from a recipe in Harrow glaze book
29.5 Potash Feldspar (Custar)
22.3 Silica (200 mesh)
14.8 Whiting
14.8 China Clay (EPK)
7.5 Red Clay
11.1 Talc
Red Iron Oxide 1%
Bentonite 2.5%
Note: This is my standard glaze for salt interiors. It works in a broad temperature range (8-11), raw glazes well on interiors, and also works on bisque.
Variations on Apple Green Celadon
Kathy’s Green – formulated by Kathy Knowles
Basic Apple Green Celadon recipe with added 2% of Mason Stain 6226 (dark leaf green) and 1% Mason Stain 6242 (Bermuda green).
Becky’s Green – formulated by Becky Garrity
Basic Apple Green Celadon recipe with added 1% Mason Stain 6226 (dark leaf green) and 3% Mason Stain 6242 (Bermuda green).
Albany Slip
I’ve always used Albany Slip as a liner glaze in salt. As I have neared the end of my “lifetime supply” I have begun to search for alternatives to it. Below, I provide two substitute recipes for Albany. There is also a new slip clay available called Ohio Slip that seems to be a close match to the original Albany. It’s sold by Pam Adkins of A&K Clay 937-379-1495 or www.akclay.com My early tests suggest that it looks good in salt but seems to be slightly more refractory than the original stuff.
Substitute Recipe for Albany – liner glaze formulated using GlazeChem software
59 Redart clay
28 Custar Feldspar
10 Dolomite
3 Whiting
Rutile .5%
Red Iron Oxide 1%
Bentonite 2%
Substitute Recipe for Albany – formulated by Chots Levenson
15 Dolomite
50 RedArt or other Red Clay
35 Custar Feldspar
1% Titanium
2% Bentonite