Drip glazing and bare outsides: Deceptively difficult.

Sunday 13th August 2017

Why? insight-live.com/glossary/46">Glaze fit. These are available on Aliexpress (as Drip Pottery or Drippy Pottery) and they are made by a manufacturer that has close control of body maturity (and thus strength) and the capability to tune the thermal expansion fit of glaze-on-body. It has to fit better than normal because of the absence of an outside glaze. Too low an expansion and the compression (outward pressure) will fracture body (these are thin-walled pieces making them vulnerable). Too high and it will craze. And the glaze is thick, it will shiver or craze with far less forgiveness than a thin layer. And how did they get the glaze on this thick? They likely deflocculated it, up to 1.7 or more, glazed the inside, let it dry, then glazed the outside. These pieces are a visual and technical achievement. If you are a potter you had best think twice before attempting the same (they are often called Gloop Glazes).

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

Glaze at 1.7 specific gravity on green-ware. Way too thick!, Why are these vessels cracking when hot water is poured in?, Deflocculation, Glaze fit, Glaze Compression, Glaze thickness

This post is one of thousands found in the Digitalfire Reference Database. Most are part of a timeline maintained by Tony Hansen. You can search that timeline on the home page of digitalfire.com.