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We receive about 100 different materials for use in ceramic glazes, and suppliers frequently need to be changed (or are changed for us through suppliers that source it from others). In natural mined materials we see the biggest variation. Man-made pure materials see the least variation. But, a material like titanium is a special case. It is man-made and pure but it is also a "active ingredient" that produces variegation and color in many pottery glazes. Factors that make the difference between working and not working can be small and the percentage of this needed is also small, amplifying that further.
This is the GA6-C Alberta Slip recipe (GA6-A + 4% titanium dioxide). We are comparing two different brands of titanium, on the left is our traditional source and on the right is a test material. Titanium can be the active ingredient to make floating blue glazes, rather than rutile if the host glaze already has the needed iron oxide). On the lower right, thickness of application is a factor here. We did side-by-side comparisons of melt fluidity and those showed the two to have quite similar reactions.
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