Steven's Glazes - Tested at Cone 6

[George Lewter]

Is anyone testing some or all of Steven's cone 10 glazes at Cone 6. If so, can you let us know about the results with close up pictures and firing details?

 

So, CM?!. Can you share any details with us?  Are the glazes all formulated the same as they were in his handouts, or has he made flux adjustments for the lower firing temperatures?  What kind of firing schedule are you using?  Are you also firing the gas kiln to cone 6?

 

I asked Steven a year ago if we could publish the Glaze recipes here, but never got an answer, so we've just referred our members to Lakeside Pottery where the recipes are online, but it would be nice to have them right here. 

[CM Partin]

Of course they're not the same, but even more vivid and bright. We have worked continuously on the new formulations, but it is with great success. He is now totally firing at cone six. No more cone 8 or 10. I will ask for some photos to post.

[CM Partin]

George, Steven just told me that if you contact him directly he will talk to you about his theories.

[CM Partin]

Of course they're not the same, but even more vivid and bright. We have worked continuously on the new formulations, but it is with great success. He is now totally firing at cone six. No more cone 8 or 10. I will ask for some photos to post.
But no more gas.

Steven said to contact him directly and he you discuss.

[Teresa Wooden]

Hey Mark? Glad to "virtually" meet you. :) I had to reschedule working with him this week. He said you were a wonderful artist. So excited to see his cone six results! I think it's really going to alter the future of ceramics. I have a cone six load firing right now with some sprayed experiments. Don't expect much success but the pursuit is interesting. Please wish him all the best for me, and hopefully I can get together with him soon for some crits.

[CM Partin]

Missed getting to meet you for our week of hands on with Steven. He has spoken so highly of you and your work. I will give him your best and would really to meet you on day in person.

[2v1qjjnbh3ufy]

Hello, I attended Steven's work shop last August and mixed his glazes and fired to cone 8. The clay body was laguna 182 with grog and the pots look beautiful except for a lot of blisters. Does anyone have any idea why this may have happened.

[Mary Jane]

Hi Greg - I am curiious as to whether you single fired or put the glazes over bisque? I am assuming that you fired in oxidation. i attended one of his seminars last spring and applied the glazes to bisque. I had a just a couple of blisters (not bloating but blisters). In my case, the clay body was b-mix and coleman porcelain. I would also like some ideas on why this happened and basically would like to understand what causes blisters in general. Thanks in advance for any insights.

Greg Allen said:

Hello, I attended Steven's work shop last August and mixed his glazes and fired to cone 8. The clay body was laguna 182 with grog and the pots look beautiful except for a lot of blisters. Does anyone have any idea why this may have happened.

[Teresa Wooden]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that blistering is caused by cooling too quickly, not giving the glaze time to "heal" as it gases out. Also could be because the glaze is too thick, or because it is overfired.



Teresa Wooden said:

Mary Jane said:

Hi Greg - I am curiious as to whether you single fired or put the glazes over bisque? I am assuming that you fired in oxidation. i attended one of his seminars last spring and applied the glazes to bisque. I had a just a couple of blisters (not bloating but blisters). In my case, the clay body was b-mix and coleman porcelain. I would also like some ideas on why this happened and basically would like to understand what causes blisters in general. Thanks in advance for any insights.

Greg Allen said:

Hello, I attended Steven's work shop last August and mixed his glazes and fired to cone 8. The clay body was laguna 182 with grog and the pots look beautiful except for a lot of blisters. Does anyone have any idea why this may have happened.

[2v1qjjnbh3ufy]

Hi Mary Jane, my pots were bisque to 04 and the glaze firing was according to Steven's handout, I'm using a programmable skutt 1027. The same thing happened to my pots during the workshop and I was using b-mix and that's when Steven told me it was probably the clay body and that that's why he stopped using b-mix. But now I'm using laguna 182G white stoneware. The blisters weren't as large this time, maybe the size of a pencil lead and smaller. I think Teresa may be right with it having something to do with the cooling time or over firing. I don't have the numbers (temp and time) in front of me but I do remember the firing time was 14.45 hours, shooting for cone8.
I'm new here so I ask if you could please be patient with me if I bring up a subject that may have already been discussed. I broke my foot before the workshop in August but didn't go to the doctor till after the workshop and I just got out of my cast and walking so I've cleared the cobwebs out of the studio and trying to play catch up. I'm glad I found this site and "thank you" to all of you.

[Mary Jane]

Hi Greg and Teresa - I definitely think the overfiring and cooling cycle resonates as possible reasons for the blisters. I guess my confusion is that, if we are all following the same firing schedule and our kilns are reasonably accurate, why is it happening to some and not others? I had bisque fired my ware to cone 05. Both my b-mix and the coleman porcelain are cone 10 clays, so if it is overfiring it would be on the glaze only. The glazes supposedly go to cone 10. So, I am confused. When I did the SH workshop (we did our own firing after bringing the pieces home) I followed his firing schedule and my cone 8 cone was completely down with cone 9 just starting to bend very slightly. Any ideas on modifying the firing schedule if that is the problem? It did not happen on all glazes and I think it primarily happened on the places where the fake ash had run.

Thanks in advance. MJ


Greg Allen said:

Hi Mary Jane, my pots were bisque to 04 and the glaze firing was according to Steven's handout, I'm using a programmable skutt 1027. The same thing happened to my pots during the workshop and I was using b-mix and that's when Steven told me it was probably the clay body and that that's why he stopped using b-mix. But now I'm using laguna 182G white stoneware. The blisters weren't as large this time, maybe the size of a pencil lead and smaller. I think Teresa may be right with it having something to do with the cooling time or over firing. I don't have the numbers (temp and time) in front of me but I do remember the firing time was 14.45 hours, shooting for cone8.
I'm new here so I ask if you could please be patient with me if I bring up a subject that may have already been discussed. I broke my foot before the workshop in August but didn't go to the doctor till after the workshop and I just got out of my cast and walking so I've cleared the cobwebs out of the studio and trying to play catch up. I'm glad I found this site and "thank you" to all of you.

[Teresa Wooden]

You may try increasing you soak time slightly. Mine is at 1600 for 45 min. The way you stack you kiln could contribute to uneven heating, so do some research on that, and try to keep notes about each firing (including how the kiln was stacked and where the problem pots were located). You can always re-fire a blistered pot (so long as the problem is only in the glaze, and not bloating in the body). The clay body may add to the issue, so just try some different samples of clay and see if any work better. Sadly, I don't usually find a "quick fix" for my pot problems, and have to test, test, test, etc., al. It is interesting, though.

[2v1qjjnbh3ufy]

My mistake on the clay body, it's not laguna 182G but standard 182G. I talked with Steven today and he seems to thing the blister problem would go away if we switch to porcelain.

Greg Allen said:

Hi Mary Jane, my pots were bisque to 04 and the glaze firing was according to Steven's handout, I'm using a programmable skutt 1027. The same thing happened to my pots during the workshop and I was using b-mix and that's when Steven told me it was probably the clay body and that that's why he stopped using b-mix. But now I'm using laguna 182G white stoneware. The blisters weren't as large this time, maybe the size of a pencil lead and smaller. I think Teresa may be right with it having something to do with the cooling time or over firing. I don't have the numbers (temp and time) in front of me but I do remember the firing time was 14.45 hours, shooting for cone8.
I'm new here so I ask if you could please be patient with me if I bring up a subject that may have already been discussed. I broke my foot before the workshop in August but didn't go to the doctor till after the workshop and I just got out of my cast and walking so I've cleared the cobwebs out of the studio and trying to play catch up. I'm glad I found this site and "thank you" to all of you.