[Clayart] My clay story
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Ivy Glasgow via Clayart
Feb 15, 2025, 7:08:12 AM2/15/25
to cla...@lists.clayartforum.com, Ivy Glasgow
I will share this lurker's clay story, which is also most of my life story. There are some false starts and waiting periods here, so this is not the happiest tale. I make my living as a technical writer now, so this won't be the shortest story either. But we all needed some reading material this week, right?
1970-something. I couldn't tell you when I first felt the joy of making clay objects and then seeing their transformation through fire. All I can tell you is that before I was in first grade, I was already hooked for life. I would run out in the rain and liquify the clay soil of the backyard with my bare feet and then form my new clay into lumpy things. My dad contributed to my interest by allowing me to "fire" my little backyard mud snowmen in the coals when he barbecued. (My mother must have been incredibly patient with both of us and our messes.)
At a very early age, maybe 5, I begged my parents into sending me to every community clay class that they could find. I tried but didn't stick with the gymnastics, soccer, ice skating or other extracurriculars. Just clay. What luck, we were able to find at least a few months of clay class every year, in different venues. The diversity of these classes was remarkable and formed my understanding of the versatility of ceramic art.
In Bay Village at the crafts center, we made little things like ashtrays and little animals. I just loved having real clay in my hands. I was in awe of the slab roller when I was barely tall enough to see its table. If we asked nicely, the teachers would roll out beautifully burlap-textured slabs for us. I never succeeded in making the tall cylinders with my little hands, but I loved trying. We were allowed to use the kick wheels, though with my juvenile legs it wasn't practical for me.
In one class in a very patient woman's basement, 8 or so of us third-graders wove big clay baskets and made little critters. She was so dedicated to teaching us the craft, that she hosted a pit firing as our end-of-class celebration. Awesome.
In classes the Beck Center, we got prompts on what to make of unglazed terra cotta. More little critters and some abstract representations of things that were close to the heart. This was mostly hand-building with a few carving and stamping tools, a slab roller, and hand-held extruders. We didn't get to use the electric wheels; they were reserved for the Big Kids.
There were other formal classes that I can't remember. Raku, and kick wheels, it's been too long.
My grandmother once allowed me to assist with painting her little Mayco bisque creatures, mice and pigs and little baskets. After our shared disappointment with my messy and chaotic color schemes, that idea was discontinued!
Sadly, we had very little clay curriculum in school. We kids did things like macaroni art and seed art, but almost nothing with clay.
1980-ish. When I was about 11, my dad found a used kiln and an electric pottery wheel somewhere in Michigan, and moved them into our basement for my further clay pursuits.
This bodacious homemade "electric wheel" - I sure hope an old timer on Clayart will recognize its description and immediately know who made it! It was constructed of a massive steel flywheel, a tractor seat, and a home-welded metal frame. The frame was short like an electric wheel, not tall like a kick wheel. The motor was big and fast, mounted to on a metal arm below the seat. Push down on the arm with your foot, and a rubber wheel would contact the flywheel and accelerate it. Release the arm, the motor would fall away, and the momentum of the flywheel would carry the wheel along. Maybe if you were skilled enough and tuned the machine to eliminate wobbles, it would have worked. I wasn't, so I never made more than an ashtray with it. No idea what the folks did with it later- perhaps it is still kicking around the Midwest somewhere.
I'm not passionate about lumpy ashtrays, so hand-building was my joy. I liked making free-spirited closed forms with spiraling 'hair' and attempting (and somewhat succeeding) with ideas like inserting stained glass windows and copper pipes through the closed forms. I still have some of these around. I love that they remind me of the folks who told me that I "couldn't" do this or that this was "impossible". Their unbounded creativity (in hindsight) amazes me at this point.
1980s. I took classes at the art institute while in high school. I went through all their high school classes and finally was allowed to enroll in college level ceramics one summer. What a revelation that was, with real curriculum, tools, and glazes. That class didn't participate in firings, so getting back our finished high-fired and raku pieces was like Christmas morning.
1988. My goal was to study ceramics in college. I wanted to go to Alfred! On the other hand, my parents very much wanted me to pursue something that would be identifiable as a professional career and pay a decent salary. My dad was pretty insistent that I follow in his footsteps and become a materials engineer. While there's no doubt that it would have been cool to work at NASA like he did, 16-year-old me found engineering impossibly dorky and I dismissed it out of hand. Our lose-lose compromise was architecture. (If only I had known that I could have gone into ceramic chemistry at Alfred, I probably would have done that for the win-win.)
1990. So off to college in So Cal. What I didn't know is that architecture is an all-consuming major and profession. I barely had time to breathe during architecture school, much less to double-major in art. Though the art school shared space with architecture, I only managed to fit in five or so art classes during the five year program, and none of them were ceramics.
I confess, a few times I sneaked into the ceramics room at night and made random things. I planted them like cowbirds on the class firing shelves next to the objects of much higher artistic value. They fired my pieces anyways. What fun to go undetected amongst the "real" art.
1995. Upon graduation, I was driven to succeed in my chosen career! I wanted to be the youngest licensed architect ever. I completed my series of exams and the interview before my 27th birthday, which is a tremendous accomplishment that I'm still proud of. I applied the same energy to my career, trying to excel, coveting that starring role as Junior Designer, and never quite reaching that mark. I pretended not to notice the rampant sexism that held me back, and pressed forward with my career, doing more and more. (I was so damn exhausted, y'all.)
2004 By this time I was fully disillusioned with my career, ground down by the sexism and had a permanent spasm in my back and neck. I realized that I would never be a recognized Designer at a firm, never be on a magazine cover, and I was ready to call it quits. I was good enough to be a nuts-and-bolts production architect, seeing as how my resignation made my boss cry, but I wasn't at the top of the talent pool, so I wasn't satisfied.
2005. If you remember 2005, I was lucky enough to sell my first house at the top of the market. I headed off to the wilds of Eastern Oregon to find myself. I really needed the break and the reset. About six months in, the spasm in my neck finally released, I was well rested and felt about two inches taller. I got busy gardening and renovating my house and set up a studio.
I might not have found myself out there, but I did find Clayart! I got going with clay puttering, but didn't really have a direction. I was just making QLT's and 'stuff' and selling it out of my house. I learned about glaze chemistry through Clayart and books like MC6G and Robin Hopper's, and began formulating colors, but I wasn't really passionate about one branch or another of the ceramics world.
In the course of renovating my home, I could not find tiles that I liked. I decided that I must not be the only one who wanted fresh designs and modernist tiles, and so I set off to make a go of it as a tile maker. I worked up my designs, glazes, samples, and started making display boards to shop around to the tile showrooms. I set up a website and my current email address stu...@ivyglasgow.com<mailto:stu...@ivyglasgow.com> to create a professional image. Started sending out postcards to showrooms and I got a few bites. I could see the glimmerings of success ahead of me.
2007. Several showrooms had agreed to include me in their offerings and a mortar manufacturer wanted to sponsor me in creating my display boards. I was included in the Lark 500 Tiles book. WOW- what amazing validations of both my craftsmanship and my design skills. I had really, really needed that. Of course, right about then, I ran out of money. I simply couldn't float myself through till the tile business took off.
So ultimately I "found myself" by realizing that being an architect was A-OK for supporting myself, I just needed to accept that I wouldn't be the Designer or the top dog. I unsubscribed from the shiny architecture magazines and resolved to try not to work myself to the point of burnout.
2008. I went back to the city and joined a big firm. Good money, interesting projects, and I was well-respected enough. Of course, the studio was left behind at the country house. I took a wheel-throwing class at a local studio and finally learned to make vessels. It was a great couple of years of learning that culminated with the privilege of participating in a firing at the noborigama in Grass Valley.
2010. Life happened. I got divorced, ran out of classes to take, lost the country house with the studio, fell in love again, lost a friend to suicide, sold the city house, moved again, got busy with work again, lost a friend to cancer, and could barely keep up with life, let alone making pottery.
2012. I found space in a local collective studio and set up my equipment there. I was enjoying it at first, but the experience soured over time. Some criticized me sharply for being a hobbyist and for selling work at the annual show, which made it hard for me to enjoy myself there anymore. I bailed and got even more hate for taking my own slab roller with me.
2017. I set up a studio in my current house but barely had time to use it.
2020. So many people had cool 'pandemic projects' at home but I was too busy with work to do that. I had a big, high-profile project at my firm, and I spent nearly 2 years on it.
2021. Fourteen-ish years into my 'new' job, I'd climbed to a high rank in my office. As I became a manager, then a principal, there were new challenges to take on, which took more of my time. Meanwhile, I got farther and farther from the technical/ production work that nourished me. I was looking for another change.
2022. Just over two years ago, I reached a point of confidence that allowed me to leave the firm and start my own part-time business writing specifications and doing sustainability consulting. Two of my favorite parts of the technical side of the business. Now I work for architects, mostly on large projects.
2023. Consulting part-time was supposed to free up my time enough to allow me to activate my studio and return to the joy of making things. But running a business is a big new challenge for me. I've been more successful than I planned to be- I've even had to hire an admin assistant. My partner is now fully retired and we are free to travel the world, so we have done a lot of that with our free time in the past two years.
Now. I long to make more ceramics but rarely have/make the time. Not to say I've made nothing in the last two years. I made a bunch of "ollas" with custom lids for our garden. There are owls and Shrek heads and ducks and wizard hats that are cheery to see between the vegetables. I've gotten really excited about making lamps and I'm working my way through replacing all of the lamps in our home. I currently only fire my big kiln about twice a year; I'd love to do more, but two firings is immeasurably better than no firings.
The future. Over the next ten-ish years I plan to ramp down my consulting business and eventually close up shop. Over that time, I will ramp up with ceramics work. I will probably not try tile making as a business again, unless I am doing an Ann Sacks-like thing where I design tiles and then license them to a manufacturer. I am past 'needing' to sell things, so I plan to make and sell (if there are buyers) lamps, ollas, mugs and other things that bring me joy when I make them. One wrinkle is that we may move out of the country; but I can't let that stop me. There is clay and pottery everywhere on Earth. Maybe I can't take the studio with me, but I will take the artist, and that's the important part.
Today. Putting all this on digital paper is cathartic and inspiring; I am both unburdening myself and making a public commitment to do the things I love. If I had it to do all over again, I would do things very differently. That's impossible of course, so I'm happy to say I'm in a pretty good place now with many opportunities ahead.
I have boundless gratitude for Mel and the Clayart community. I may not have hands in the mud every day, but I get to vicariously enjoy all your clay experiences and continue to quietly learn from you.
Thanks to all of you.
Ivy Glasgow
Email: stu...@ivyglasgow.com<mailto:stu...@ivyglasgow.com>
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1970-something. I couldn't tell you when I first felt the joy of making clay objects and then seeing their transformation through fire. All I can tell you is that before I was in first grade, I was already hooked for life. I would run out in the rain and liquify the clay soil of the backyard with my bare feet and then form my new clay into lumpy things. My dad contributed to my interest by allowing me to "fire" my little backyard mud snowmen in the coals when he barbecued. (My mother must have been incredibly patient with both of us and our messes.)
At a very early age, maybe 5, I begged my parents into sending me to every community clay class that they could find. I tried but didn't stick with the gymnastics, soccer, ice skating or other extracurriculars. Just clay. What luck, we were able to find at least a few months of clay class every year, in different venues. The diversity of these classes was remarkable and formed my understanding of the versatility of ceramic art.
In Bay Village at the crafts center, we made little things like ashtrays and little animals. I just loved having real clay in my hands. I was in awe of the slab roller when I was barely tall enough to see its table. If we asked nicely, the teachers would roll out beautifully burlap-textured slabs for us. I never succeeded in making the tall cylinders with my little hands, but I loved trying. We were allowed to use the kick wheels, though with my juvenile legs it wasn't practical for me.
In one class in a very patient woman's basement, 8 or so of us third-graders wove big clay baskets and made little critters. She was so dedicated to teaching us the craft, that she hosted a pit firing as our end-of-class celebration. Awesome.
In classes the Beck Center, we got prompts on what to make of unglazed terra cotta. More little critters and some abstract representations of things that were close to the heart. This was mostly hand-building with a few carving and stamping tools, a slab roller, and hand-held extruders. We didn't get to use the electric wheels; they were reserved for the Big Kids.
There were other formal classes that I can't remember. Raku, and kick wheels, it's been too long.
My grandmother once allowed me to assist with painting her little Mayco bisque creatures, mice and pigs and little baskets. After our shared disappointment with my messy and chaotic color schemes, that idea was discontinued!
Sadly, we had very little clay curriculum in school. We kids did things like macaroni art and seed art, but almost nothing with clay.
1980-ish. When I was about 11, my dad found a used kiln and an electric pottery wheel somewhere in Michigan, and moved them into our basement for my further clay pursuits.
This bodacious homemade "electric wheel" - I sure hope an old timer on Clayart will recognize its description and immediately know who made it! It was constructed of a massive steel flywheel, a tractor seat, and a home-welded metal frame. The frame was short like an electric wheel, not tall like a kick wheel. The motor was big and fast, mounted to on a metal arm below the seat. Push down on the arm with your foot, and a rubber wheel would contact the flywheel and accelerate it. Release the arm, the motor would fall away, and the momentum of the flywheel would carry the wheel along. Maybe if you were skilled enough and tuned the machine to eliminate wobbles, it would have worked. I wasn't, so I never made more than an ashtray with it. No idea what the folks did with it later- perhaps it is still kicking around the Midwest somewhere.
I'm not passionate about lumpy ashtrays, so hand-building was my joy. I liked making free-spirited closed forms with spiraling 'hair' and attempting (and somewhat succeeding) with ideas like inserting stained glass windows and copper pipes through the closed forms. I still have some of these around. I love that they remind me of the folks who told me that I "couldn't" do this or that this was "impossible". Their unbounded creativity (in hindsight) amazes me at this point.
1980s. I took classes at the art institute while in high school. I went through all their high school classes and finally was allowed to enroll in college level ceramics one summer. What a revelation that was, with real curriculum, tools, and glazes. That class didn't participate in firings, so getting back our finished high-fired and raku pieces was like Christmas morning.
1988. My goal was to study ceramics in college. I wanted to go to Alfred! On the other hand, my parents very much wanted me to pursue something that would be identifiable as a professional career and pay a decent salary. My dad was pretty insistent that I follow in his footsteps and become a materials engineer. While there's no doubt that it would have been cool to work at NASA like he did, 16-year-old me found engineering impossibly dorky and I dismissed it out of hand. Our lose-lose compromise was architecture. (If only I had known that I could have gone into ceramic chemistry at Alfred, I probably would have done that for the win-win.)
1990. So off to college in So Cal. What I didn't know is that architecture is an all-consuming major and profession. I barely had time to breathe during architecture school, much less to double-major in art. Though the art school shared space with architecture, I only managed to fit in five or so art classes during the five year program, and none of them were ceramics.
I confess, a few times I sneaked into the ceramics room at night and made random things. I planted them like cowbirds on the class firing shelves next to the objects of much higher artistic value. They fired my pieces anyways. What fun to go undetected amongst the "real" art.
1995. Upon graduation, I was driven to succeed in my chosen career! I wanted to be the youngest licensed architect ever. I completed my series of exams and the interview before my 27th birthday, which is a tremendous accomplishment that I'm still proud of. I applied the same energy to my career, trying to excel, coveting that starring role as Junior Designer, and never quite reaching that mark. I pretended not to notice the rampant sexism that held me back, and pressed forward with my career, doing more and more. (I was so damn exhausted, y'all.)
2004 By this time I was fully disillusioned with my career, ground down by the sexism and had a permanent spasm in my back and neck. I realized that I would never be a recognized Designer at a firm, never be on a magazine cover, and I was ready to call it quits. I was good enough to be a nuts-and-bolts production architect, seeing as how my resignation made my boss cry, but I wasn't at the top of the talent pool, so I wasn't satisfied.
2005. If you remember 2005, I was lucky enough to sell my first house at the top of the market. I headed off to the wilds of Eastern Oregon to find myself. I really needed the break and the reset. About six months in, the spasm in my neck finally released, I was well rested and felt about two inches taller. I got busy gardening and renovating my house and set up a studio.
I might not have found myself out there, but I did find Clayart! I got going with clay puttering, but didn't really have a direction. I was just making QLT's and 'stuff' and selling it out of my house. I learned about glaze chemistry through Clayart and books like MC6G and Robin Hopper's, and began formulating colors, but I wasn't really passionate about one branch or another of the ceramics world.
In the course of renovating my home, I could not find tiles that I liked. I decided that I must not be the only one who wanted fresh designs and modernist tiles, and so I set off to make a go of it as a tile maker. I worked up my designs, glazes, samples, and started making display boards to shop around to the tile showrooms. I set up a website and my current email address stu...@ivyglasgow.com<mailto:stu...@ivyglasgow.com> to create a professional image. Started sending out postcards to showrooms and I got a few bites. I could see the glimmerings of success ahead of me.
2007. Several showrooms had agreed to include me in their offerings and a mortar manufacturer wanted to sponsor me in creating my display boards. I was included in the Lark 500 Tiles book. WOW- what amazing validations of both my craftsmanship and my design skills. I had really, really needed that. Of course, right about then, I ran out of money. I simply couldn't float myself through till the tile business took off.
So ultimately I "found myself" by realizing that being an architect was A-OK for supporting myself, I just needed to accept that I wouldn't be the Designer or the top dog. I unsubscribed from the shiny architecture magazines and resolved to try not to work myself to the point of burnout.
2008. I went back to the city and joined a big firm. Good money, interesting projects, and I was well-respected enough. Of course, the studio was left behind at the country house. I took a wheel-throwing class at a local studio and finally learned to make vessels. It was a great couple of years of learning that culminated with the privilege of participating in a firing at the noborigama in Grass Valley.
2010. Life happened. I got divorced, ran out of classes to take, lost the country house with the studio, fell in love again, lost a friend to suicide, sold the city house, moved again, got busy with work again, lost a friend to cancer, and could barely keep up with life, let alone making pottery.
2012. I found space in a local collective studio and set up my equipment there. I was enjoying it at first, but the experience soured over time. Some criticized me sharply for being a hobbyist and for selling work at the annual show, which made it hard for me to enjoy myself there anymore. I bailed and got even more hate for taking my own slab roller with me.
2017. I set up a studio in my current house but barely had time to use it.
2020. So many people had cool 'pandemic projects' at home but I was too busy with work to do that. I had a big, high-profile project at my firm, and I spent nearly 2 years on it.
2021. Fourteen-ish years into my 'new' job, I'd climbed to a high rank in my office. As I became a manager, then a principal, there were new challenges to take on, which took more of my time. Meanwhile, I got farther and farther from the technical/ production work that nourished me. I was looking for another change.
2022. Just over two years ago, I reached a point of confidence that allowed me to leave the firm and start my own part-time business writing specifications and doing sustainability consulting. Two of my favorite parts of the technical side of the business. Now I work for architects, mostly on large projects.
2023. Consulting part-time was supposed to free up my time enough to allow me to activate my studio and return to the joy of making things. But running a business is a big new challenge for me. I've been more successful than I planned to be- I've even had to hire an admin assistant. My partner is now fully retired and we are free to travel the world, so we have done a lot of that with our free time in the past two years.
Now. I long to make more ceramics but rarely have/make the time. Not to say I've made nothing in the last two years. I made a bunch of "ollas" with custom lids for our garden. There are owls and Shrek heads and ducks and wizard hats that are cheery to see between the vegetables. I've gotten really excited about making lamps and I'm working my way through replacing all of the lamps in our home. I currently only fire my big kiln about twice a year; I'd love to do more, but two firings is immeasurably better than no firings.
The future. Over the next ten-ish years I plan to ramp down my consulting business and eventually close up shop. Over that time, I will ramp up with ceramics work. I will probably not try tile making as a business again, unless I am doing an Ann Sacks-like thing where I design tiles and then license them to a manufacturer. I am past 'needing' to sell things, so I plan to make and sell (if there are buyers) lamps, ollas, mugs and other things that bring me joy when I make them. One wrinkle is that we may move out of the country; but I can't let that stop me. There is clay and pottery everywhere on Earth. Maybe I can't take the studio with me, but I will take the artist, and that's the important part.
Today. Putting all this on digital paper is cathartic and inspiring; I am both unburdening myself and making a public commitment to do the things I love. If I had it to do all over again, I would do things very differently. That's impossible of course, so I'm happy to say I'm in a pretty good place now with many opportunities ahead.
I have boundless gratitude for Mel and the Clayart community. I may not have hands in the mud every day, but I get to vicariously enjoy all your clay experiences and continue to quietly learn from you.
Thanks to all of you.
Ivy Glasgow
Email: stu...@ivyglasgow.com<mailto:stu...@ivyglasgow.com>
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farmpots--- via Clayart
Feb 16, 2025, 12:30:39 PM2/16/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, farm...@eastex.net
On 2/14/2025 11:19 PM, Ivy Glasgow via Clayart wrote:
> I will share this lurker's clay story, which is also most of my life
> story. There are some false starts and waiting periods here, so this is
> not the happiest tale. I make my living as a technical writer now, so
> this won't be the shortest story either. But we all needed some reading
> material this week, right?
>
>
Wow - it sounds like you were born with clay in your veins!
> I will share this lurker's clay story, which is also most of my life
> story. There are some false starts and waiting periods here, so this is
> not the happiest tale. I make my living as a technical writer now, so
> this won't be the shortest story either. But we all needed some reading
> material this week, right?
>
>
Glad you are back at it.
Stay warm & dry everyone!
Thanks,
David
da...@farmpots.com
Vince Pitelka via Clayart
Feb 16, 2025, 5:21:22 PM2/16/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, vincep...@gmail.com
Hi Ivy -
I can understand how cathartic it was getting all that down on paper.
Thank-you for sharing it with us. I enjoyed every word of it. I've always
felt sorry for people who retire and don't know what to do with themselves,
and it must be nice looking forward to scaling back your work and then
retiring at some point in the future, knowing that you'll be able to immerse
yourself in ceramics to your heart's content.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Potter, Writer, Teacher
Chapel Hill, NC
vincep...@gmail.com
www.vincepitelka.com
https://chathamartistsguild.org/
I can understand how cathartic it was getting all that down on paper.
Thank-you for sharing it with us. I enjoyed every word of it. I've always
felt sorry for people who retire and don't know what to do with themselves,
and it must be nice looking forward to scaling back your work and then
retiring at some point in the future, knowing that you'll be able to immerse
yourself in ceramics to your heart's content.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Potter, Writer, Teacher
Chapel Hill, NC
vincep...@gmail.com
www.vincepitelka.com
https://chathamartistsguild.org/
Dick Lumaghi via Clayart
Feb 16, 2025, 9:13:30 PM2/16/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, Dick Lumaghi
The recent mentions on Clayart of the Shaner’s Red glaze prompt me to respond. That glaze, along with one or
two varieties of a Cushing Mat glaze, gave me fits when I tried to measure its thickness accurately. I tried various
hydrometer methods—the cheap and dirty use of a stick with a bolt screwed into one end with gradations along
the stick, or a battery tester with the bulb—and they just didn’t work for me. I happened to bump into a potter who
did the weighing method and it was transformative for me. Yes, it took a bit of time to check all the buckets of
glazes at the beginning of “Glaze Day”, but the results were, for me, wonderful: FINALLY some certainty about
these most finicky glazes, and now I use it with all my glazes. Here’s my method:
I got lucky and found a generously sized, double walled plastic coffee cup with a good handle. It holds about 500
grams of glaze and that seems about right to get consistent results. Most importantly, the cup happened to have a
rather sharp top lip, where the two walls were joined together. So what I do is place my triple beam scale on a box
resting on the sink table so that when the cup is on the scale, its top is eye level. I stir up the glaze with a Jiffy mixer
and a drill, pour a good amount into the cup, place the cup on the scale, and finish adding glaze with a turkey
baster until there is a nice meniscus (the bulge from the liquid’s surface tension trying to hold the liquid inside
the container) and then I read the weight and note it down. That sharp edge of my cup seems crucial to holding
exactly the same amount time after time. When I get a weight that works, I put it on the glaze notes I have on the
wall and on the bucket as well.
Perhaps this is no news to most of you and I cannot claim any originality with this method. I did, however, have
a (rare) flash of inspiration that may be novel. It occurred to me that if I somehow lost or broke my precious cup, I’d be
sunk—all that work having to be done again. I was a pretty rotten math student, but something must have remained,
for I got the idea to weigh the cup full of water and note that weight in my records so that I could have a factor to measure
against any other container in the future.
I’ve been doing this method for over 40 years and it occurs to me that perhaps there are more up to date ways to do this
and I’d be open to hearing about them.
Thanks.
Dick Lumaghi
dlum...@cybermesa.com
two varieties of a Cushing Mat glaze, gave me fits when I tried to measure its thickness accurately. I tried various
hydrometer methods—the cheap and dirty use of a stick with a bolt screwed into one end with gradations along
the stick, or a battery tester with the bulb—and they just didn’t work for me. I happened to bump into a potter who
did the weighing method and it was transformative for me. Yes, it took a bit of time to check all the buckets of
glazes at the beginning of “Glaze Day”, but the results were, for me, wonderful: FINALLY some certainty about
these most finicky glazes, and now I use it with all my glazes. Here’s my method:
I got lucky and found a generously sized, double walled plastic coffee cup with a good handle. It holds about 500
grams of glaze and that seems about right to get consistent results. Most importantly, the cup happened to have a
rather sharp top lip, where the two walls were joined together. So what I do is place my triple beam scale on a box
resting on the sink table so that when the cup is on the scale, its top is eye level. I stir up the glaze with a Jiffy mixer
and a drill, pour a good amount into the cup, place the cup on the scale, and finish adding glaze with a turkey
baster until there is a nice meniscus (the bulge from the liquid’s surface tension trying to hold the liquid inside
the container) and then I read the weight and note it down. That sharp edge of my cup seems crucial to holding
exactly the same amount time after time. When I get a weight that works, I put it on the glaze notes I have on the
wall and on the bucket as well.
Perhaps this is no news to most of you and I cannot claim any originality with this method. I did, however, have
a (rare) flash of inspiration that may be novel. It occurred to me that if I somehow lost or broke my precious cup, I’d be
sunk—all that work having to be done again. I was a pretty rotten math student, but something must have remained,
for I got the idea to weigh the cup full of water and note that weight in my records so that I could have a factor to measure
against any other container in the future.
I’ve been doing this method for over 40 years and it occurs to me that perhaps there are more up to date ways to do this
and I’d be open to hearing about them.
Thanks.
Dick Lumaghi
dlum...@cybermesa.com
Robert Santerre via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 7:12:08 AM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, Robert Santerre
Yeah Dick, this same method of measuring specific gravity of a glaze can be done quite precisely with a 100 ml graduated cylinder (glass or plastic) that can be readily purchased online. And if the cylinder gets broken, it can be readily and cheaply replaced. Weigh the empty cylinder, then fill it with water to the 100 ml mark and weigh the filled cylinder. Then pour out the water, fill the cylinder to the 100 ml mark with your glaze mix, weigh it and make the calculation ... weight of the glaze mix minus the weight of the empty cylinder divided by the weight of the water minus the weight of the empty cylinder = specific gravity of the glaze mix. Quick and easy, very repeatable and quite precise/accurate.
But, to be clear, specific gravity does not describe the "thickness" of a glaze mix. Thickness or viscosity describes the rheological property of a glaze. It describes how the glaze flows, a mechanical property of the glaze. The “thickness”, flow or mechanical property of a glaze can be influenced in many ways (independent of its specific gravity). For example, a glaze with a good amount of clay in it can be thickened by adding small amounts of acid, like hydrochloric acid … or the thickness (viscosity) can be decreased by adding small amounts of a base, like sodium hydroxide. You can get a reasonably accurate measure of glaze “thickness” by pouring a measured amount of a glaze into a funnel and timing how long it takes for the glaze to pour out of the funnel. The longer it takes to empty out of the funnel the thicker, more viscose the glaze.
The two measurements (specific gravity and “thickness”) work together to determine how much glaze you will apply to a pot. In my experience glaze viscosity is often the most important factor determining how much glaze you are applying to a pot. There are of course a number of other factors influencing the amount of glaze applied to a pot, e.g., how long the pot is held in the glaze, is the pot dipped in the glaze or is the glaze poured over the pot, variations in the thickness of the bisqued pot (for example the thickness the handle of a mug versus the wall thickness, etc., etc. Lots of variables, many of which can only be determined and controlled by the experience of the individual potter.
Again, in my experience that’s why glaze formulas don’t always travel well. The experience of the potter and his/her kiln are THE MAJOR FACTORS.
Bob Santerre
formerly Arrowsic Island Pottery
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Thanks.
Dick Lumaghi
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Paul Randall via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 1:17:01 PM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, Paul Randall
Hi all,
Lot’s of talk about the Specific gravity and viscosity of Glazes, etc., so I thought I’d share my methodology.
1. Go to your local pharmacy or better yet, hospital pharmacy and buy a 60-100 cc syringe. Get the one with a large nozzle, for use with a catheter.
2. Go home and Mix up your glaze. Mix it light on water, thicker than you want the glaze in its working state.
3. Weight your newly purchased syringe while empty (in grams) and write down the weight. TAR your scale.
4. Suck up 50cc of glaze into the syringe and weigh it (in grams). Subtract the empty weight from the 50cc weight and multiply by two. You now have a specific gravity measurement. Wash out your syringe and dry it for next time.
5. I mix my glazes short on water and Let sit overnight before sieving and testing specific gravity. Then I add water until I get my target SPG. Then add Darvan 7 or Sodium Silicate or Epsom salts as needed to get the viscosity and workability I want for a specific glaze.
6. Repeat this SPG measurement every time before you use the glaze. Adjust glaze to your target.
7. Each glaze is different, each glaze has it’s own working state. Each potter is different, each potter has their own working state.
8. Pottery process is challenging and wonderful!
Paul
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Robert Santerre via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 12:07:04 AM
To: 'Clayart international pottery discussion forum' <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: Robert Santerre <rfsan...@gwi.net>
Subject: Re: [Clayart] Measuring Glaze Thickness
www.norton.com<http://www.norton.com>
Lot’s of talk about the Specific gravity and viscosity of Glazes, etc., so I thought I’d share my methodology.
1. Go to your local pharmacy or better yet, hospital pharmacy and buy a 60-100 cc syringe. Get the one with a large nozzle, for use with a catheter.
2. Go home and Mix up your glaze. Mix it light on water, thicker than you want the glaze in its working state.
3. Weight your newly purchased syringe while empty (in grams) and write down the weight. TAR your scale.
4. Suck up 50cc of glaze into the syringe and weigh it (in grams). Subtract the empty weight from the 50cc weight and multiply by two. You now have a specific gravity measurement. Wash out your syringe and dry it for next time.
5. I mix my glazes short on water and Let sit overnight before sieving and testing specific gravity. Then I add water until I get my target SPG. Then add Darvan 7 or Sodium Silicate or Epsom salts as needed to get the viscosity and workability I want for a specific glaze.
6. Repeat this SPG measurement every time before you use the glaze. Adjust glaze to your target.
7. Each glaze is different, each glaze has it’s own working state. Each potter is different, each potter has their own working state.
8. Pottery process is challenging and wonderful!
Paul
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Robert Santerre via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 12:07:04 AM
To: 'Clayart international pottery discussion forum' <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: Robert Santerre <rfsan...@gwi.net>
Subject: Re: [Clayart] Measuring Glaze Thickness
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Dragonbelly Ceramics via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 1:17:50 PM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, Dragonbelly Ceramics
Isn't is simpler to weigh the empty syringe and tare it, then weigh the
glaze-filled 100 ml syringe, and simply move the decimal point 2 points to
the left?
glaze-filled 100 ml syringe, and simply move the decimal point 2 points to
the left?
100 ml of water weighs 100 grams.
If your 100 ml of glaze weighs 140 grams, the specific gravity is 1.4
Am I missing something?
LJ
--
http://www.dragonbellyceramics.com
* where imagination meets function*
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Paul Randall via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 3:38:28 PM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, Paul Randall
Whatever. My current syringe only holds 60cc. Each potter is different, each potter has their own working state.
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Dragonbelly Ceramics via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 11:27:19 AM
To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: Dragonbelly Ceramics <li...@dragonbellyceramics.com>
> www.norton.com<http://www.norton.com>
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Dragonbelly Ceramics via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 11:27:19 AM
To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: Dragonbelly Ceramics <li...@dragonbellyceramics.com>
Subject: Re: [Clayart] Measuring Glaze Thickness
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kathi--- via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 4:52:32 PM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, ka...@lesueurclaywork.com
This is how I do it. I have a beaker that will hold 100 ml. I pour the glaze in and weigh it. Easy
Sent from my iPad
> On Feb 17, 2025, at 3:37 PM, Paul Randall via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com> wrote:
>
> Whatever. My current syringe only holds 60cc. Each potter is different, each potter has their own working state.
Sent from my iPad
> On Feb 17, 2025, at 3:37 PM, Paul Randall via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com> wrote:
>
> Whatever. My current syringe only holds 60cc. Each potter is different, each potter has their own working state.
Terry Lazaroff via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 8:26:50 PM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, Terry Lazaroff
I use a photographer's darkroom cylinder to measure my glaze gravity.
The cylinder weighs 123 grams when empty.
I fill the cylinder to the 1000 ml mark, place it on my scale, record the weight in grams, and then subtract the weight of the empty cylinder. The resulting figure is then divided by 1000, simply by moving the decimal three places to the left. The result is the gravity of the glaze.
For example, with my transparent glaze: I fill the cylinder to the 1000 ml mark, and it weighs 1,563 grams. I then subtract the empty cylinder weight, leaving me with 1,440 grams. I divide this figure by 1000, moving the decimal three places to the left, which gives me a glaze gravity of 1.444. I round it to 1.44. I dip my pieces using a 3/1000 count.
When developing a new glaze, I set aside five small bisqued bowls and prepare the new mix to a gravity of 1.50. I take the first bowl, marked #1, and dip it into the glaze for a 3/1000 count. I then adjust the glaze to a gravity of 1.48 and repeat the 3/1000 count for the second bowl, marked #2. I continue adjusting the gravity—1.46 for bowl #3, 1.44 for bowl #4, and 1.42 for bowl #5—each time dipping for a 3/1000 count. After firing the bowls, I select the gravity that produces the most desirable result. If the glaze is too thick or too thin, I repeat the test using a 2/1000 or 4/1000 count.
This method can also be used to determine the ideal glaze gravity when double-dipping or layering one glaze over another.
If viscosity is adjusted, the dipping count time may need to be readjusted accordingly.
I hope this description is clear.
Best,
Terry—currently under 80 centimeters of snow.
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of kathi--- via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 4:05 PM
To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: ka...@lesueurclaywork.com <ka...@lesueurclaywork.com>
URL: <https://lists.clayartforum.com/pipermail/clayart/attachments/20250218/abd342db/attachment.htm>
The cylinder weighs 123 grams when empty.
I fill the cylinder to the 1000 ml mark, place it on my scale, record the weight in grams, and then subtract the weight of the empty cylinder. The resulting figure is then divided by 1000, simply by moving the decimal three places to the left. The result is the gravity of the glaze.
For example, with my transparent glaze: I fill the cylinder to the 1000 ml mark, and it weighs 1,563 grams. I then subtract the empty cylinder weight, leaving me with 1,440 grams. I divide this figure by 1000, moving the decimal three places to the left, which gives me a glaze gravity of 1.444. I round it to 1.44. I dip my pieces using a 3/1000 count.
When developing a new glaze, I set aside five small bisqued bowls and prepare the new mix to a gravity of 1.50. I take the first bowl, marked #1, and dip it into the glaze for a 3/1000 count. I then adjust the glaze to a gravity of 1.48 and repeat the 3/1000 count for the second bowl, marked #2. I continue adjusting the gravity—1.46 for bowl #3, 1.44 for bowl #4, and 1.42 for bowl #5—each time dipping for a 3/1000 count. After firing the bowls, I select the gravity that produces the most desirable result. If the glaze is too thick or too thin, I repeat the test using a 2/1000 or 4/1000 count.
This method can also be used to determine the ideal glaze gravity when double-dipping or layering one glaze over another.
If viscosity is adjusted, the dipping count time may need to be readjusted accordingly.
I hope this description is clear.
Best,
Terry—currently under 80 centimeters of snow.
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of kathi--- via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 4:05 PM
To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: ka...@lesueurclaywork.com <ka...@lesueurclaywork.com>
joel joelfink.net via Clayart
Feb 17, 2025, 8:26:56 PM2/17/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, joel joelfink.net
I have a Zahn cup for Newtonian slurries, but I haven't tuned my glazes to viscosity yet, so I can't say. For specific gravity, I use a density cup; perfect measurements every time. That said, in my experience, this method is more for removing sg as an unknown contributor to variances. My glazes don't require that actual accuracy, and I get spot-on consistency, load to load, which is important to me, since I layer fairly agressively.
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of kathi--- via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 3:05 PM
To: Clayart international pottery discussion forum <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: ka...@lesueurclaywork.com <ka...@lesueurclaywork.com>
URL: <https://lists.clayartforum.com/pipermail/clayart/attachments/20250218/f00f2e37/attachment.htm>
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of kathi--- via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2025 3:05 PM
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David Woof via Clayart
Feb 20, 2025, 7:16:23 AM2/20/25
to Clayart international pottery discussion forum, David Woof
Hi All,
So far it appears this thread, while spot on as far as it goes, is still dancing around two necessary factors in understanding what you are doing.
Flocculation vs De-flocculation of the glaze slop must be considered as a deflocculated slop requires less H2O than a flocculated slop to achieve a workable rheology. Obviously then the slop weight ratios will skew from your previous measurements of the glaze slop, if this glaze slop condition changes.
And don't accept or quote any "expert opinions" that use the term "counter intuitive" in the defining explanation.
Saying "Counter Intuitive" in this context is a dead giveaway that the published author/writer is simply copying someone's older work and is misunderstanding the science............. How does one kindly say "Clueless?"
Misneach,
David Woof...............My Muse........ the playful but sometimes snarky little brown eyed Raven-Haired Vixen is pretending English is her second or third language and I think she is requesting that I explain or demonstrate de-flocculation. .................. Does she infer to mean "de-frocking?"
I'd best get to the bottom of this possible language conundrum before she gets a "mean on".......and tears up the studio..................
******************************************************************************************************
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Robert Santerre via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2025 11:07 PM
www.norton.com<http://www.norton.com>
So far it appears this thread, while spot on as far as it goes, is still dancing around two necessary factors in understanding what you are doing.
Flocculation vs De-flocculation of the glaze slop must be considered as a deflocculated slop requires less H2O than a flocculated slop to achieve a workable rheology. Obviously then the slop weight ratios will skew from your previous measurements of the glaze slop, if this glaze slop condition changes.
And don't accept or quote any "expert opinions" that use the term "counter intuitive" in the defining explanation.
Saying "Counter Intuitive" in this context is a dead giveaway that the published author/writer is simply copying someone's older work and is misunderstanding the science............. How does one kindly say "Clueless?"
Misneach,
David Woof...............My Muse........ the playful but sometimes snarky little brown eyed Raven-Haired Vixen is pretending English is her second or third language and I think she is requesting that I explain or demonstrate de-flocculation. .................. Does she infer to mean "de-frocking?"
I'd best get to the bottom of this possible language conundrum before she gets a "mean on".......and tears up the studio..................
******************************************************************************************************
________________________________
From: Clayart <clayart...@lists.clayartforum.com> on behalf of Robert Santerre via Clayart <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 16, 2025 11:07 PM
To: 'Clayart international pottery discussion forum' <cla...@lists.clayartforum.com>
Cc: Robert Santerre <rfsan...@gwi.net>
Cc: Robert Santerre <rfsan...@gwi.net>
Subject: Re: [Clayart] Measuring Glaze Thickness
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