Using cookie cutters make round tiles with a decent sized hole a little in from one edge. Leave one half smooth & flat and use any method you like to create a raised pattern of some sort on the other half, so you get an idea of what the glaze would look like on an incised or impressed surface.
Many people use old blenders or stick blenders for mixing test batches. They mark off with a magic marker where enough water for a 100g test comes, so they can just put in the water and add ingredients as they are weighed out. (Tip: Use a piece of masking tape until you are sure enough to draw your line with a magic marker.) Another reason to mark where a 100g or a 200g batch of wet glaze comes, is so you can can add that much base glaze before adding colorants or other ingredients.
Test Sieve:
A small test sieve is a must, for experimenting with glazes and oxides.
They are very easy to make and become invaluable.
Purchase a strong plastic container approx 1 ltr capacity. with a rim
on the base, the rim gives the seive strength. Also purchase 200 mesh wire, it is expensive but only a tiny circle is required.
cut around the rim with a stanley knife, heat a long handled knife in an
open flame (a gas kiln is great), and gently melt the plastic around the
hole and stick the mesh to the molton plastic.
This technique can be used on a bucket seive as well for large batches
of glaze.
Most people mix 100g batches of test glazes, although some that use bowls or larger pieces go up to 300g. Often people make a larger batch, then break it down to smaller pieces for the addition of different colorants (stains and oxides).
There are many benefits to having test tiles for glazes. It allows you to test combinations of glazes easily and inexpensively, and serves as a permanent reminder of what a glaze looked like on a certain clay. Otherwise, you may forget very quickly.
Throw wide, shallow, bottomless vertical sided bowls. Leave a "flange" on the inside and outside bottom. Tool one side when dry, then cut vertically. This gives you a bunch of upside down "T" shapes with a slight curvature. Gives good run and coverage results.
Small cups (pinched or thrown) with glaze on the interior. Gives great flow and coverage results. Try texturing one side, and overlap the different glazes over both texture and smooth parts of the form.
Some think it's important to screen after each coloring oxide addition for smoother results. Inexpensive test sieves are available that fit over a jar or half pound margarine cup. Also, some people use permanent coffee maker filters as screens. See how to make your own test sieve here:
Make your own test sieve
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Guru Spotlight |
Sherril Steele-Carlin |