DIY Network

Covered Butter Dish: Glazing Creating a ceramic butter dish, Part 4 of 4 From "Throwing Clay" episode DTHC-208

Figure A

Master potter Bill Van Gilder is making butter dishes with distinctive lids. First, he threw two shallow bowls on the potter's wheel. When the pieces were leather hard, he trimmed them to form a base and a lid. He attached a thrown knob on one dish and sculpted a bird knob for the second dish. When the pieces were bone dry, they were placed in the kiln and bisque fired. When cool, he waxed the areas where the base and lid connect with wax-resist emulsion. Now he's ready to glaze the pots (figure A).

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1. Because the pieces are small, he uses a small bucket of glaze for dipping. He first dips the pieces in raspberry-red glaze. He patches the places where his fingers held the pieces with a finger dipped in glaze. When possible, he holds the pot on the waxed areas when he's dipping. After dipping, the glaze will take approximately three minutes to dry (figures B and C.

Figure B

Figure C

2. Bill fettles, or cleans, any excess glaze on the wax surfaces. This is an important step: if the surfaces aren't clean, they can stick together when fired. Glaze drops, left on waxed areas, can also contaminate additional glaze dips.

3. He sets the dishes on a banding wheel and uses a sharp-pointed decorating brush to apply bands of wax-resist emulsion. He steadies his right hand with his left, spins the wheel and applies glaze bands to the pieces and a swirl at the top of the thrown knob (figures D, E and F).

Figure D

Figure E

Figure F

4. When the wax is dry, he redips the lids in the cream-rust glaze. The waxed lines will let the red glaze show through, creating a point of drama on the lids (figure G).

5. When the glaze is dry, he places the pieces in the kiln for their high-temperature firing. Again the pieces are fired with lids in place, ensuring the pieces will stay uniform in shape. The kiln will fire for 10 to 12 hours, reaching a temperature of 2200 degrees. After cooling for 24 hours, the kiln is opened and the dishes are ready for use (figure H).

Figure G

Figure H

RESOURCES :

Kilns
L & L Kilns
Website: www.hotkilns.com

Clay
Highwater Clays
Website: www.highwaterclays.com

Extruders
American Art Clay Co. Inc. (AMACO)
Website: www.amaco.com