okay, I'll stop now.
Yesterday I spent the entire, sweaty afternoon mixing three different glazes. One of which was nuka. All day the Suzanne Vega song was stuck in my head with Nuka substituted for Luka.
Jeff can take the blame for this silliness...
When he was working at the production pottery in NH, he and his fellow potters passed the time by singing popular songs and switching the words out with pottery terms.
Wild horses, couldn't drag me through clay... Rolling Stones "Wild Horses"
Creamers, Sugars and Creamers, well can you put your hands on your clay oh no... Supertramp's "Dreamers"
Squish the little babies and make them throw cups..... Ween "Push Th' Little Daisies" (google it if you aren't familiar with Ween)
I am sure there are more, as well as the "Movie" versions of the production pottery, but THAT could be a whole other post and I am not going there.
Back to glaze mixing (much more serious business!)... I used to use nuka all the time when I was making pots at NH Institute of Art. It was one of their more consistent glazes so I used a lot of that and spodumene. When something works when you have little or no control over the glaze or the firing, YOU STICK TO IT. I am looking forward to glazing pots with it again, and see what it will do in our own kiln of which we THINK we have control over. I also mixed a batch of glaze called peach blossom. It's one that JZ had tested during the last few months he worked in the studio. He had mixed a small batch and tested it on porcelain...
Looks like the test got a little beat up during the move, but we didn't manage to lose it, or the recipe!
I couldn't find his tests on stoneware, but I am sure it will look great. I think it will be a good color for some piggy banks. The kiln is firing as I type and there are tests of the nuka and peach blossom in there.
My name is Nuka...
Oooooh! Aaaahh! That peach looks nice!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking forward to mixing my own glazes from recipes I acquired at college, but really couldn't justify the cost of the materials. Yesterday I saw a post by John Britt about a website that will mix your recipes for you! Most are about $12-20 for a 5 lb bag of dry mix - just add water! Not a bad deal for me.
Looks like lavender blossom to me. I can't wait to see what the nuka will do.
ReplyDeleteI found a Nuka in my last batch of glaze testing. It is interesting how it can completely change how you see a shape.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to playing with it!
Looking forward to seeing the results.
ReplyDeletemmmmmmm pretty :)
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks Michele, now I have that depressing Luka song in my head... Haha! That song used to make me so sad. I love nuka glazes, especially pretty on tea bowls. Should be an interesting new palate for you guys.....
ReplyDeleteI only ever used a nuka at Sue Pariseau's place in MN for a woodfire and it was *to die for*. :)
ReplyDelete"All the pots are brown and the clay is gray..." California Dreaming by the Mamas and Papas. :-)
ReplyDeleteRobert, that sounds like a good way for you to go with glazes. Most premixed glazes are more expensive than that.
ReplyDeleteTracey - sorry to I got that depressing song stuck on you head!
Sue! that's a great addition to the pottery song playlist.
Now I've got all kinds of songs running through my head and something to do when I'm listening to music. Thanks, I think.
ReplyDeleteOh Michèle, I forgot! How did you like the collection of stamping materials in my previous posts?
ReplyDelete