Highlights and Review of the Last Kiln Firing

This past weekend I unloaded the kiln to find some gems. I have a new partnership with a seller from Glasgow and was trying out a few variations of orange for him to pair with my favorite, Indigo Float of Amaco’s Potter’s Choice cone 5/6 glazes. Since I was already paying for shipping, I picked out several Potter’s Choice glazes to test: Deep Sienna Speckle, Salt Buff, Temmoku, and Deep Firebrick. Amaco is great about testing and sharing glaze pairings, which they claim will have consistent and stable results. Sometimes, pairing the wrong glazes can lead to disastrous runs or undesirable colors, so it’s great product development and marketing on Amaco’s part.

I was very pleased with the way the Indigo Float looked on top of the Temmoku. Temmoku on it’s own has a flat, marbled finish. One dip of Indigo Float resulted in a darker, shinier Temmoku, and two dips resulted in a pop of blue.

Indigo Float over Temmoku

As for Salt Buff, I am going to hold off on my final assessment since I applied it too thickly, and the listing for it says to apply on the thin side. Where it is very thick, the finish is a mustard brown and some bubbling occurred. The casserole dish was okay, but I butchered a cake plate with it. I paired it with Temmoku, and while my husband loved the results, it reminded me too much of mustard on a hot dog.

Salt Buff over Temmoku

Deep Firebrick needed a thicker application, and when applied thick enough, had a lovely glowing finish.

Deep Firebrick Casserole Dish

I also picked up three new Speedball colors – moss, tangerine, pink and bright yellow – to fill a custom order for a friend.Typically, I purchase my Speedball glazes at Jerry’s, and I did this time as well. However I saw that The Ceramic Shop, where I have bought many ceramic supplies, has them listed at 30% – 50% less than what I paid for them. Lesson learned. Several of the Speedball glazes have fantastic results, but many of them have hard white particles that leave grit on the surface after the firing or leave white streaks if they are rubbed down flat before firing. I’ve found it is best to brush them off when possible.

Deep Sienna Speckle, Pink, Orange, Deep Firebrick, Tangerine, Yellow, Salt Buff, Temmoku

I never would have selected pink on my own, but the yellow was on down my list. This Speedball Bright Yellow over the Speckled Brownstone clay (Highwater Clays) is fantastic! For so long I’ve stuck with cool tones, and this yellow is a welcome diversion from that. I was so nervous about pink, but is came out to be a pleasant shade, and it paired well with the bright yellow.

Pink and Bright Yellow Pitcher and Two Mugs

Yellow on a Lace Imprint Cake Stand

This Moss glaze has a lot of potential, but it needed a thicker coat and more careful attention to the white particles. I actually put several coats on the plate, and there were still sections where the brown of the clay showed through.

Moss on Lace Imprint Cake Stand

To see the rest of the firing, visit Paige Puckett Pottery on Facebook.