Reduction speckle: A product of iron particles in the body And the atmosphere of the firing

Monday 20th April 2015

In reduction firing, where insufficient oxygen is present to oxidize the iron, natural iron pyrite particles in the clay convert to their metallic form and melt. The nature of the decorative speckled effect depends on the size of the particles, the distribution of sizes, their abundance, the color of the clay and the degree to which they melt and bleed at their edges. The characteristics of the glaze on the ware (e.g. degree of matteness, color, thickness of application, the way it interacts with the iron) also determine the appearance.

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

Reduction vs Oxidation Glazes, Step 1 of a speckled dolomite matte at cone 6 oxidation: This result is good enough to prove it is doable, Reduction Speckle, Reduction Firing, Iron Pyrite

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.