BLACK OVER WHITE

In an effort to simplify things and try out a new black glaze at the same time I decided to glaze this sandy mix teabowl with a clear glaze. As you can see the clear allows all the surface texture and stones to show rather nicely adding quite a bit of visual texture to the bowl and the black glaze was trailed on the piece in a casual but somewhat controlled manner. The black glaze is a bit thicker than I wanted but certainly did come out a dark, rich black that really stands out on this surface which is a bit more white than this particular photo shows using simple daylight. The next step in fine tuning this black glaze is to make it up a tiny bit thinner, reduce the oxides (carbonates) and reduce the stiffness a bit as well. One interesting feature that I am sure I am about to ruin by altering the formula is that in the sunlight, the black is punctuated by silver dots where bits of sand or stone are underneath the glaze. You may think that a black glaze would be rather simple and easy but when you see something specific in your head it all gets a bit complicated; next firing, more testing     

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become in adequate, I shall be content with silence."  Ansel Adams