WHAT ARE CRYSTALLINE GLAZES?
The surface of clay work is covered with glaze that is a mixture of various materials. Under the influence of temperatures generated in a ceramic kiln, glaze gains permanent colors. One of the glaze type is a crystalline glaze, which, thanks to the proper combination of raw materials and firing cycle, can produce crystals that look like shimmering flowers. You can never know where the crystals appear, it is a random process that representing the uniqueness of objects made by this method. All glazes I create by myself from raw material like frit, zinc, silica ant many others. Crystals can grow in many different shapes, colors, structure, this can compared to form of ice structures saw on cold days. However, in ceramics world, the temperature needed to grow crystals is very very high …
DEMANDING FIRING PROCESS.
To create visible crystals I need to give special circumstances such as proportions of chemical components in glaze, thickness, proper clay body, temperature in the kiln and many other small thing that almost alway matter. Firstly I mix the raw materials and when the glaze is ready I will apply it on ceramic pot. After that, everything goes it to the kiln and I will fire my pots to very hight temperature (even 1290°C / 2354 F). When the kiln stops splitting fire it need to cool down to temperature where crystals can grow. Sometime growing crystals can take few hours. Then I need to wait for the kiln to cool down totally and it also take a while…
AND WHEN I OPEN THE KILN ...
Only then do I know if I was able to meet the intended effect. Sometimes something goes wrong and there are too many crystals or none at all. Opening the kiln is very exciting and addictive, the thrill is what motivates you to continue creating. Discovering new effects, finding out what caused them, is very demanding task. Knowledge of this technique is the quintessence of knowledge about nature and how doe it work. I can only help nature in finding a way to creat more and more beautiful effect. I always say that it was nature that created the result, I only provided the right conditions for it.
A FEW FACTS ABOUT CRYSTALLINE GLAZES:
Important: my site uses cookies. I use information saved using cookies and similar technologies, including for advertising and statistical purposes and to adapt my website to the individual needs of users. Advertisers, research companies and multimedia application providers cooperating with me can also use them. In the program used to operate the Internet you can change the settings for cookies. Using our websites without changing the settings for cookies means that they will be saved in the device's memory.