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These tests of a recipe called "Strontium Crystal Magic". The potter tried it on different bodies and firings. But instead of producing the magic crystals like the pictures, the surfaces fired totally matte. Reasoning "why would anyone put a recipe on line that does not work", she blamed one of the materials. Others fed that with rumours of claimed issues in its consistency. Admittedly, this glaze is meant for layering over others - but the source did not say that. This underscores misguided trust in trafficked recipes that most often lack sufficient documentation. Crystal glazes, by necessity, need to have a high melt fluidity. The crystals develop best with a specific cooling curve having a controlled fall at a narrow temperature range. Cool faster, they don't grow, slower and they matte the entire surface. Other factors, like clay body and glaze thickness are involved. People who post glaze recipes like this often do not document them well because they do not fully understand their mechanisms.
Glossary |
Crystallization
Ceramic glazes form crystals on cooling if the chemistry is right and the rate of cool is slow enough to permit molecular movement to the preferred orientation. |
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URLs |
https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/freebies/guide/15-tried-and-true-cone-6-glaze-recipes
15 Tried and True Cone 6 Glaze Recipes PDF booklet from CeramicsArtNetwork.org. These are mostly not for functional pieces yet we find many people doing exactly that. Each of these are lessons in limit recipes and limit formulas. |
Articles |
Trafficking in Glaze Recipes
The trade is glaze recipes has spawned generations of potters going up blind alleys trying recipes that don't work and living with ones that are much more trouble than they are worth. It is time to leave this behind and take control. |
Articles |
Glaze Recipes: Formulate and Make Your Own Instead
The only way you will ever get the glaze you really need is to formulate your own. The longer you stay on the glaze recipe treadmill the more time you waste. |
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