Glaze Testing and Getting Ready for Clay Class

Ken mixes his own glazes, and he makes them from local materials.  There is no recipe.  So he starts with his decades of experience and knowledge of materials.  He crushes local rock powder in a ball mill filled with porcelain balls.

He makes pots and cuts them and bisques them and applies the test glazes.  then after he fires the pieces he examines for opacity, color, texture, crazing and other factors.

He then makes adjustments, repeats the process - sometimes many times - until the glaze is right.  

He keeps copious notes.

He is doing this before clay classes start this Saturday and before he goes into winter pottery production