My next development project

[Arnold Rowntree]

I was searching google images for 'alkaline glazes' and saw this at VVarges page:

http://vvargespottery.typepad.com/vvarges_pottery/2011/01/further-h...

Apparently its an iron - tin alkaline glaze. I like the way it breaks yellow to brown. It's a bit like the Albany slip glaze with tin and lithium. There's no Alany slip in Australia but I'm motivated to try and come up with something similar.
I'll try iron, tin and rutile in a 3110 based glaze, can anyone else suggest a starting point?

[Arnold Rowntree]

This is Ferro Frit 4110 with enough kaolin to float the frit and equal parts of iron, tin and rutile. The photo isn't quite true to life, the tile is really a bit warmer. Ipad photography isn't quite there yet. Nevertheless the alkaline iron colour is there and the tin opacity. Next I'll wind up the iron and drop the tin back a bit.

[Jay Decker]

This is interesting, but I am new to glaze development and have couple questions.  What do you mean by “enough kaolin to float the frit”?  What does it accomplish? Why do you want to do it?

[Arnold Rowntree]

Yo Jay, to float the frit means to do something that counteracts the tendency of frit to sink to the bottom of the bucket and go hard. So hard that it takes forever to stir your bucket of glaze and get all that powder to float around again with the water so you can dip your pots again. Kaolin does that and can keep some materials from falling out of suspension even if only for a time. Its one of the principles I learned from reading Tony Hansens materials, he's the owner of Digital Fire and Insight Live. I've always liked Tony's stuff and in the last ten years or so I've concentrated on learning to use Insight which has made the most difference to my pottery over my 45 years of dabbling.

[Jay Decker]

Thanks.  Funny you should mention Tony... I recently purchased an Insight subscription and have been reading his webpages.