From: Phil Hamling [pdh@zircarceramics.com]

Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 11:14 AM

To: Avi Harriman (aviharriman@gmail.com); Glenn Woods

Subject: Frozen in Fire Educational Displays

Glenn and Avi,

I spent time trying to decide which pieces to submit for the show. It was torture. Kind of like shopping!!!! I couldn't decide It was a tossup between about 20 pieces.

I did finally make a decision and will submit under my name and 3 for David Turner right after this e-mail.

Then it hit me that maybe some of the other pieces I have could be exhibited in the "educational displays". Here are my thoughts. Can you give me yours?

Bay #1

A series of displays including:

A summary statement regarding "What are Crystalline Glazes?" and "How are they made?".

A piece of bisque with a catcher

A plate with small piles of frit, silica, zinc and colorants in roughly the proportions used.

A poster with a typical firing curve.

A fired piece on a catcher.

A poster with a listing of the "variables".

Displays of the following pieces with captions:

A) 2 pieces glazed with a Ferro 3110 base glaze with  small amounts of red copper oxide and rutile on top under a coating of the same base glaze with rutile. These were made using the same clay, same glaze and saw the same ^11 oxidation firing. Both came out of the initial oxidation firing like the one on left with the red copper oxide responsible for the green color and iron in the rutile responsible for the golden color in the crystals. The piece of the right was subsequently refired to ~1500F (strike fired) in air and the copper turned to a red color.

B) 3 Pieces glazed with Ferro 3110 base glaze with small amounts of red copper oxide and rutile. These were made using the same clay, same glaze and saw the same ^11 oxidation firing. These pieces illustrate the rapid growth of rings in "high" copper containing glazes and their sensitivity to glaze application thickness. This is a unique glaze in that the thinner it  is applied, the greater the growth rate of the rings.

C) 4 pieces glazed with Fusion 413 base glaze with red copper oxide, cobalt carbonate and manganese dioxide in the ratio of 3:1:1. The concentrations of the colorants range from a low of 1.5 : .5: .5 on the left to a high of 6 : 2 : 2 on the right.

These were made using the same clay, same glaze and saw the same ^11 oxidation firing. These pieces illustrate the effect of colorant concentration on the size and color of the  growth of rings as well as the background.

Bay #2

A display consisting of a group of piece glazed with the same Fusion 413 base glaze with red copper oxide, cobalt carbonate and manganese dioxide in the ratio of 3:1:1. The initial ^11 oxidation firing was the same for all pieces. These pieces illustrate the effects of colorant concentration, glaze blending and subsequent reduction / re-oxidation firings on the size and color of the  growth of rings, background and color.

Please give me your thoughts on this.

Phil

Philip Hamling, President

ZIRCAR Ceramics, Inc.

100 N. Main St.

PO Box 519

Florida, NY, USA 10921-0519

Tel: 845-651-6600 Ext. 12

Fax: 845-651-0441