There is a new video up on the Karatsupots youtube channel. On it, I explain the process of glazing Chosen Karatsu ware, from applying the ame glaze, to trimming the ame, and subsequent application of the wara glaze.
I’m lucky in that I can walk out my door and head up the hill for a walk, and I rarely encounter anyone else.
Today, I was passed by one car and was otherwise completely alone. It was a beautiful spring day after a day of rain and the mountain was lush. Several times on my way up I could smell the wild boars that must have been lurking nearby quietly. I don’t worry about them. The only time I ever see one is when they jump up to run away when I get too close on the road.
The road is roped off now, because of a landslide that damaged the road higher up, but it’s no problem for walkers to go through.
A very nice walk, and a nice clay discovery, I’ll be heading up again from the other side in my car to get some for pots and glaze.
Gas kiln firing, 2020/03/16. Chosen Karatsu and Madara glazes. 3 types of Madara glaze from old buckets in which the exact contents were largely forgotten.
The normal madara glaze ended up being too low in silica, and going clear in most cases. Shirakawa madara pinholed in most cases. I’d forgotten about this behaviour. New Madara glaze test shows good color, but also, low in silica perhaps, needs more straw ash added (1kg).
Shida madara much too clear, only showed white where very thick. Maybe miscalculated when mixing the glaze? Add more Shida (2kg?) to overall batch. Test again.
When I was polishing work from the fall firing yesterday, I noticed two pieces that had been glazed, fired (on shells)glazed again, and fired again (on shells). This isn’t too unusual, but in the case of these two pieces, they were literally fired side by side both times and had the same glazes applied, twice.
The only difference between the pieces is the clay body. The teabowl is clay/sandstone 50/50, and the smaller cup is clay/sandstone 10/90.
Now probably it shouldn’t, but the difference in the fired glaze surface astounds me. And all other things being equal, it must be that 40% difference in clay content that has changed that glaze.
Since the glaze is collected, I don’t have an analysis, but my guess is that the higher alumina content in the higher clay body is responsible for making that high silica glaze go clear, by adding alumina to the glaze matrix and fluxing more of the silica.
