This week’s glaze firing contained 48 glaze tests. I am looking for a reliable clear glaze which will be suitable for both my favourite D’arcy’s Redart and a white earthenware. So I had made 12 testers in each of: D’arcy’s, Plainsman F100, SPS LF06 and Georgie’s Wonder White. Of each 12 I left 4 plain, painted 4 with underglazes and 4 with slips and then glazed those samples with 4 different glazes. As recommended by Tony Hansen of Digitalfire I shocked the tests further by boiling them and immersing them in ice water several times.

Predictably all 48 tests emerged from the glaze firing seemingly perfect. But the treatment above has revealed some crazing on some but happily no shivering. The upshot is that, given advice from several users of white earthenware I shall stop using F100 and switch to Wonder White clay. It isn’t wonderfully white, more a pale beige like all the others but it is behaving well for making slab plates and for throwing.

And I have today mixed up 5,000 grams of G1916Q clear glaze. It is the one that behaves best on my red and the white clay. Further studies await me regarding my slips on white clays but for now I must get back to production.

Recent first-time ‘Raider’ Michelle Normoyle’s four plates were in this firing so I’ll post Al’s nice photos of those here. Philippe and Mina’s plates from that Raid will be included in the next firings. 

And my meagre twelve new jugbirds are finally done so now I need to get ten of them shipped off to Eclectic Gallery in Victoria right away. Tomorrow they are having a reception for the gallery patrons to meet the new owners but I won’t get these new jugbirds there in time for that. I did put out a request for someone going over to Vancouver Island to take them for me in exchange for a mug! but so far no luck. I’ll pack them up for reliable old Greyhound after the long weekend.