Tuesday, August 25, 2009

NOT buckets of blood





(teaset by Gary Rith)
I have been digging this black glaze so much I have burned through bucket number one--lookit how good it looks upon the black teaset with blue spots---A PLUS!
So, the messiest job in ceramics is mixing clay, but I don't mix my own clay. The second messiest job is mixing glazes, and I mix my own glazes. Under my studio is our basement, where I store clay and all the bags of powders to mix glaze. There is also a door to the outside and a hose, and it all works OK and could be a whole lot more gross than it is.
NO I don't use lead in my glazes. Glazes are made out of powdered clays and silicas and coloring oxides, but you don't want to breathe the powders as you mix.
This black glaze has a little cobalt and a lot of red iron oxide, therefore it looks like a bucket of blood. :)
Dreamt I was flying a biplane all over the sky last night, and also dreamt that I was at my favorite ratty bar, the Chapterhouse.....

8 comments:

kate et jim said...

What are you 'really' doing in that basement, Gary... it really does look like buckets of blood! lol

Unknown said...

Oh look! You have a Bat Cave too!

I know it.. some glazes look just like buckets of blood.. thank you, red iron oxide.

Gordo said...

You say that like buckets of blood are a bad thing.

Anonymous said...

i use those kitty litter things too... actually stopped on the road yesterday and nabbed 2 of them from someone's recycle bin

Busy Bee Suz said...

Do you think all the glazing is going to your brain, making you think you are flying???

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Suz, um, no.....

jbf said...

Wow! Great tea set! (I think mine is jealous.)

Not buckets of blood, but buckets none the less.

Kimberly said...

....ah...so even though pottery is an ancient craft, basically pottery is not a green industry then?