Midnight Blue is a rich cobalt blue with red streaks in post firing reduction. Stay tuned for this month's pot which features previous glazes of the month: Blue Moon, Lime Green and Sassy Fat White/Silver Slither, in addition to this month's Midnight Blue.
With Silver Nitrate added I call this glaze Silver Slither, which is pictured. This glaze has to be fired hot to about 1950F for the platelets to form beads. it looks different on top of a variety of base glazes as you can see from the photos. Works best on shoulder of pieces or on a more horizontal surface. Mix on the thick side. I usually apply a very small amount at a time by either pouring or brushing. When I pour it, I often will blow on it to move it around.
This month's glaze is a revision of my March Glaze called Lime Green Crackle. Stay tuned for a silver glaze recipe next month!
This glaze is fired to 1900 degrees F, pulled from the kiln and reduced in a small can with newspaper. Lid is put on immediately. Wait about 2 1/2 minutes and remove the lid. Rub the top of pot with torn newspaper using gloves. Once paper ignites cover can again immediately and let cool (you may have to use a torch to reignite the paper).
A note about Hectorite: It's a suspender in powder form similar to Bentonite except it doesn't have to be dry mixed with the other chemicals. It's not a common raku pottery glaze chemical and you may have to search for it on the web. I purchased mine at Highwater Clays, but they don't carry it anymore due to lack of demand (nobody knew what it was used for).
This is a stable blue and red glaze. 1/2% Epsom Salts can be substituted for Bentonite. This glaze produces some incredible raku pottery and is one that I developed several years ago. This picture is the results of the raku glaze fired to 1900F. It remains a staple in my studio. See more of my work by visiting my raku pottery store. To learn more about my process, visit my raku firing page.
