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suemcleodceramics

🤓Weekly articles about ceramic glazes & studio tips
🤓Free specific gravity guide
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New Blog Post: 12 Tips for Managing Glazes at a Bu

New Blog Post: 12 Tips for Managing Glazes at a Busy Pottery Studio⁠
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Managing the glazes in a busy pottery studio is a big job. You have to keep the glaze buckets full and the glazes in good shape for the studio users.⁠
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You don't want the glazes to get lumpy because the lids get left off and glaze gets stuck to the sides of the bucket. Not to mention the occasional foreign object at the bottom of the bucket 😉⁠
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You also want to keep the glaze thickness as consistent as possible so beginners have an easier time learning how to glaze and teachers have an easier time teaching them.⁠
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This is why we have a monthly glaze sieving and specific gravity checking routine.⁠
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In today's article, I'll tell you all about them as I share the routines and procedures, tools and equipment, safety tips, even spreadsheets 🤓 that we use in the community studio where I work. We have 20 large buckets of glaze and 250 monthly users.⁠
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Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #glazemaintenance #glazemanagement #glazesieving #studiotips #studioroutines #potterystudio #ceramicsstudio #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

Do you remember my post from 3 weeks ago about how

Do you remember my post from 3 weeks ago about how FLOCCULATED clay particles are attracted to each other?⁠
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Well, guess what! The opposite is also true.⁠
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DEFLOCCULATED clay particles are NOT attracted to each other.⁠
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This is because positively charged ions (usually sodium) have attached themselves to all sides of the clay particles.⁠
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Since two positive charges repel each other, the clay particles don't bond together and they can't hold the rest of the glaze materials in suspension.⁠
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Everything sinks to the bottom and becomes difficult to mix. ⁠
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That is, until you add a FLOCCULANT like Epsom salts to spark things up and the clay particles become attracted to each other again.⁠
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If your glaze is hard-panning, it may need to be flocculated. Learn more in my latest blog post (with videos)
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How to Fix a Hard-Panned Glaze with Epsom Salts⁠
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Follow the link in my bio.⁠
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#hardpanning #hardpannedglaze #glazes #fixingglazes #rawglaze #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #deflocculated #flocculated #epsomsalts #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

New Blog Post:⁠ How to Fix a Hard-Panned Glaze w

New Blog Post:⁠
How to Fix a Hard-Panned Glaze with Epsom Salts⁠
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Have you ever had a glaze settle into a rock hard layer on the bottom of your glaze bucket? It’s impossible to mix and even if you do get it mixed, it just settles out again.⁠
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This annoying phenomenon is called “hard-panning” and it often happens to glazes that don’t have enough clay in them to keep the glaze in suspension.⁠
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Clay is a very light material and is the main suspending agent in our glaze recipes.⁠
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Our glazes are made up of rocks that have been ground up into a fine powder. Naturally, they would just sink (like rocks) to the bottom of the glaze bucket.⁠
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Next time you make 10 kg of glaze, think about how hard it would be to stir a 10 kg bucket of rocks with a spatula.⁠
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But when we add clay to our glazes, the clay helps to keep the heavy particles in suspension, floating around the bucket and very easy to stir with a spatula.⁠
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So hard-panning can happen if there's not enough clay in your glaze...⁠
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BUT⁠
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...it can also happen if your glaze becomes inadvertently DEFLOCCULATED due to soluble sodium in your glaze. It's nobody's fault, it just happens sometimes 😉⁠
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When this happens, it means the clay has lost its suspending properties.⁠
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The good news is, we can get those suspending properties back by FLOCCULATING our glaze with Epsom Salts.⁠
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Read all about it AND see videos of the process AND learn a bit about deflocculation in today's blog post. Follow the link in my bio.⁠
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#hardpanning #hardpannedglaze #glazes #fixingglazes #rawglaze #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #deflocculated #flocculated #epsomsalts #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

White - This glaze looks exactly the same but it’s runnier when it’s too thick.⁠
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Learn about How the Water in Your Glaze is Affecting Your Results in my latest blog post.⁠
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If you like this glaze, there's also a link to the recipe in the article. Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #glazetesting #glazetests #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #kilnsurprises #glazeapplicationthickness #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #glazeapplication #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

Raspberry (Cedar Hill mystery glaze) - This glaze

Raspberry (Cedar Hill mystery glaze) - This glaze is yellow where it’s thin and pink where it’s thick. Could be a shocking difference if you’re expecting one and get the other.⁠
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Learn about How the Water in Your Glaze is Affecting Your Results in my latest blog post.⁠
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Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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(no recipe for this glaze because it's a mish-mash of glaze tests)⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #glazetesting #glazetests #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #kilnsurprises #glazeapplicationthickness #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #glazeapplication #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

Blue Green Pink - A deeper blue and runnier when i

Blue Green Pink - A deeper blue and runnier when it’s thick. Much paler when thin.⁠
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Learn about How the Water in Your Glaze is Affecting Your Results in my latest blog post.⁠
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If you like this glaze, there's also a link to the recipe in the article. Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #glazetesting #glazetests #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #kilnsurprises #glazeapplicationthickness #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #glazeapplication #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

Sapphire Blue - This glaze is drippy when it’s t

Sapphire Blue - This glaze is drippy when it’s too thick and quite drastically dark and green when it’s too thin.⁠
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Learn about How the Water in Your Glaze is Affecting Your Results in my latest blog post.⁠
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If you like this glaze, there's a link to the recipe in the article. Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #glazetesting #glazetests #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #kilnsurprises #glazeapplicationthickness #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #glazeapplication #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

Anna's Green - The thicker glaze on the left is a

Anna's Green - The thicker glaze on the left is a bit more blue and a bit runnier, as you can see by looking at the drips on the side.⁠
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Learn about How the Water in Your Glaze is Affecting Your Results in my latest blog post.⁠
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If you like this glaze, there's a link to the recipe in the article. Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #glazetesting #glazetests #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #kilnsurprises #glazeapplicationthickness #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #glazeapplication #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

Raw Sienna - A subtle difference between these two

Raw Sienna - A subtle difference between these two, but it’s a deeper brown and glossier where it’s thicker.⁠
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Learn about How the Water in Your Glaze is Affecting Your Results in my latest blog post.⁠
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If you like this glaze, there's a link to the recipe in the article. Follow the link in my bio to read it.⁠
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#glazes #ceramicglaze #glazechemistry #glazetesting #glazetests #specificgravity #consistentresults #consistentglazes #glazeconsistency #glazemixing #kilnsurprises #glazeapplicationthickness #understandingglazes #howglazeswork #glazeapplication #canadianceramics #yyjpottery #yyjceramics #vancouverislandpottery

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