An oil spot glaze in a hotter firing

An oil spot glaze results from the popping of bubbles at its surface, revealing the micro-crystals which had
grown within. When the glaze is fired past the point where the bubbles had all popped, what happens?

The oil spot glaze jingdeshen-iron-7-13-MLi-2 at cone 10 has bubbles just beginning to pop.

In this hotter firing to cone 11.5, that glaze, jingdeshen-iron-7-13-MLi-2, the oil spots are replaced by the
rings of craters, the artifacts which remain after the oil spots have collapsed.

The plate has a leaf print. Several closeups of the surface of the glaze, including images of the interaction
between the glaze and the wash over the leaf embedded in the glaze are shown. A picture of the plate is also shown.

A leaf is softened by soaking in water laced with trisodium phosphate. After the pot is glazed, the leaf is pressed
into the glaze. When the glaze dries, a swatch of plate including the leaf is coated with wax. When the wax
is dry, the leaf is removed and the indentations in the glaze are coated with a very thin layer of an
underfired glaze.



Images of the surface and its interaction with the leaf wash

full view

full view

full view

full view

full view



Image of the glaze jingdezhen-iron-7-13-MLi-2 with leaf wash leaf_Z3K

full view

plate is ~ 7 inches in diameter



oxidation firing to cone 11.5 in an electric kiln

The cone 11 is down past the bottom of the cone pat, both cone 12 and cone 13 are tipped.

Firing profile

Up Fire profile cone 11.5

150 deg F an hour to 250 deg F

400 deg F an hour to 1800 deg F

300 deg F an hour to 1965 deg F

120 deg F an hour to 2250 deg F

30 deg F an hour to 2325 deg F with a 20 minute hold at 2325 deg F

Down Fire Profile cone 11.5

300 deg F an hour to 1800 deg F then a 2 hr hold at 1800 deg F

300 deg F an hour to 1700 deg F then a 3 hr hold at 1700 deg F

25 deg F an hour to 1650 deg F then a one hour hold at 1650 deg F



Clay body is a grolleg porcelain from Tacoma Clay Art Center.



glaze compositions

Background Glaze:

Empirical Formula jingdezhen-iron-7-13-MLi-2:

K2O        0.35
Na2O       0.11
CaO        0.53
MgO        0.01

Al2O3      0.53
Fe2O3      0.12

SiO2       3.58
P2O5       0.15

molecular percent Silica 66.5%



Empirical Formula of leaf wash glaze leaf_Z3K:

K2O        0.43
Na2O       0.53
CaO        0.04

Al2O3      0.54

SiO2       3.33
P2O5       0.15

molecular percent Silica 48%



Carol's Home Page