Stellar Rust

I use an electric kiln for all my work. What that means is that the "fire" won't change the glaze, except to melt it. In contrast, a gas or wood fire kiln can cause serendipitous spots of color on the clay and glaze that the artist has no control of due to the smoky atmosphere in the kiln. In the ceramics lab, we counted on the fire to "save" a not very interesting pot, and sometimes it did. With an electric, what goes wrong is the kiln getting too hot or too cool (a relative term)! These mugs were over fired and the tan glaze became clear and dark brown. Ugh! I experimented with the temperature in the kiln by placing pieces on low shelves and high shelves to find the best temperature to make the glaze look good.

I found that the bottom shelf is the best position for this glaze. This is a sake set I hand built. I can make nice textures when I make pieces from a slab of clay.

This is a canister set that I made and used the same glaze. I am really excited about the finished product!

I made this torso a few years ago but hadn't fired it, because I didn't have a glaze that I thought would compliment the shape. I try not to make figures tan or white, but usually use a color. The glaze effect on this piece is perfect. When I poured the glaze on the piece, the glaze was thicker where it over lapped. The glaze is darker brown where it is thin, and whiter where it was thick. It is the perfect glaze for this sculpture.