With the strong breeze and cool temperatures, yesterday would have been the ideal day to fire the kiln. I could have too but the six empty spaces left on the kiln shelf were calling out for more mugs.
I took this as an opportunity to get a look at a night themed cobalt black combination I’ve been thinking about. A five step gradation from dark to light. The top band and interior are glazed black with multiple grains of white polymer and a single larger grain of Black Hole, the glaze repelling polymer of 2017. The lower bands are glazed with the four lighter shades of the gradation, each successive step having half as much black as the preceding. The vision is for all the elements to come together and be transformed by the firing into an imaginary landscape lit by stars and moonlight, in the form of a coffee mug. Eager to compare the imagined to the real.
Something has definitely changed in the brushing media. It rots quickly even with clove or tea tree oil. In as little as a week, a glaze can go from perfect brushing consistency to watery and foul. Putting it back in the blender and adding fresh brushing media works to get the consistency back but adds time and expense. The idea came to me that if the glaze is deflocculated, vinegar might reverse the effect. It did indeed. The glaze became brushable again though the it did nothing for the stink.
There’s plenty of unglazed mugs and glaze combinations in the works to keep me busy for another two weeks. As always, enjoying the journey.
