TEST BUT VERIFY

Today was the type of Monday that really isn't quite 100% conducive to getting the week started, it reminds me of a four cylinder engine firing on only three. I spent the day running two bisque kiln and making up four glazes getting ready to glaze, perhaps even less fun that making glaze. On top of these chores I also made up a group of 50 gram test glazes for pods and several 200 to 500 gram batches to test out glazes on yunomi as there will be a number of tests and design tests filling the nooks and crannies of the upcoming glaze firings. With any luck, maybe I'll get something to pan out.   

Illustrated is one of the test bowl made up of a rather sandy white stoneware that I am testing, making it up in 10 lbs dry batches. The surface was scrapped open to expose the sand and then I impressed squares in opposing corners to break up the surfaces a bit. As with much of the testing these days this will end up being glazed in the Kuro-Oribe style with a very slight twist that will highlight the center of each plane a bit more. For this specific surface the ongoing testing is two-fold; tweak the overall look and verify that the technique is repeatable which is always a good attribute for a new glaze.