Color

Kristen Kieffer's tweet about color and the link to her old post about color came at the exact time that I was sitting looking at my test glazes that I had mixed almost 18 months ago.

I'm not looking for anything fancy but I do think I should add some color back to my work after going without it for the past year.

I do like the simplicity of having one glaze...and it's even simpler when the one glaze I have mixed up is a clear glaze. All of my decorations have been done while the work is either leather-hard or green which means I don't need to deal with the static bisqueware using any creative energy at all.

I also think that maybe the reason I've stayed away from color this past year is the fear of new. It's been a lot of changes in the studio but the main thing has been the switch to porcelain and electric firing. I like how Emily has embraced the new materials and kiln going with lots of color right away.

I guess it's time to add something to the mix. First of all, I'll need to make some fresh work...and maybe staring at these test-tiles has been just one more form of procrastination as I put off finding out if I can still throw.

Glaze Test Results

I mixed up a few glazes and tried some basic colorants...no fancy line blends or other testing. This was a first step in playing around with the electric kiln. I think there's some stuff to work with. I'll hopefully fire again late next week and mix up a bigger batch of one of these to try out.

Staffel Semi-Matte

from Mark Burleson's The Ceramic Glaze Handbook

Ball Celadon

from Mark Burleson's The Ceramic Glaze Handbook

Coleman's Chun

from Ceramics Monthly

I don't have the recipes handy...I'll post them soon.