Would it not have been easier to have crushed or ground the red clay into a powder before adding the oxide and water? It would then have been ready to sieve instead of having to wait for hours while the clay to slaked down.
Thanks Simon. Do you use a similar ratio 4/1 for other oxides likes 4 clay to 1 Cobalt for instance? I guess for Cobalt maybe you alter ratio as it is stronger pigment? Thanks
Hi Simon! Just happened upon this now - and perfect timing. question: are these decorating oxides suitable for oxidation firing? my gas kiln is still being set up and i'm desperate to start working with magical oxides.
it's okay to have a bit of microbial or fungal growth in the jar. that's just organic material that will burn out in the kiln. remove and discard any visible fuzz sitting on top, and mix the rest of the jar thoroughly. you can disinfect it using isopropyl spray before mixing, this will evaporate quickly and not change the chemical composition of the jar contents. the final colour result should not be affected.
you can improve adhesion by adding clay to the pigment like simon does in this video, the particles in the clay body, glaze and pigment will then sort of recognise each other and stick together. it also helps if the glaze is quite fresh when you put the pigment over it.
Thanks for another fine clip Simon Its kinda hard to find info on oxides in layman's terms. sure digital fire is great but it gets a little too technical at times...
+rbanalog It is simply there as a resource to take what you wish from it. Potters have been successful at their craft for thousands upon thousands of years without the knowledge that we now have at our disposal but then they also practiced their craft without electric kilns/wheels, pre-milled materials, and most of what we simply take for granted currently. Knowing what we have learned in the last century is simply another tool to use or not at ones own choosing. I offer it as a resource if wanted, not as something your should or should not use.
Hello Simon, first I’d like to thank you for this video. Hard to find good information about oxides and carbonate mixing as decorative uses. My question is how much water do you uses? I assume the more water the weaker the mix but I’m just looking for ball park…. 75 RIO/25 red clay to 25% water or is it just enough water to get the mixture binding together. I’ve seem some totally watered down. Just not sure where to start.
Just add enough water so the pigment flows nicely off the brush. Not enough and it will not flow, too much and will run etc. trial and error plus experimentation.
Hi Simon, When you say the synthetic Red Iron Oxide is "livelier", do you mean the red is a brighter color? I'm fairly new to pottery,...is the RIOx decoration a slip? Is it used on greenware, bisque or...? And finally, what is it's firing range? Thanks!
+Louise B Synthetic RIO has a Higher percentage of Iron than other forms of the oxide. It is 95% Fe2O3 and 5% H2O. Spanish RIO has for example has 85% Fe2O3 and the rest is loss on ignition. It is also a finer particle size and really is ideal for glazes and decoration. However if you just want to mute your color, any RIO will work fine. Decorating, Red Saturated Glazes like the Synthetic.
+Louise B thanks disisdkat well some things technical i do not not know there. Yes when using for decoration the iron oxide is not so strong or bright as the synthetic version. You can make up a red iron oxide slip, as well as use it as i am doing in this video to use as a decorative pigment.( 75% red clay, 25% RIO for a slip, and 75% RIO, 25% red clay for a decorative pigment) Generally used on bisque ware under glaze or over glaze, and the firing range I am not 100% sure of, all I can say it works well at cone 10 !
Wood ash is ash from a wood fire that is applied to the pot before a glaze fire. It give the pot a very nice texture and color thats somewhat un predictable but very nice
