Author : terrajade

Here are a few pieces with this "Granité rosé" enamel:

To obtain this "Granité rose" glaze, I started with my " Litchi" glaze. This very clear enamel has a good quantity of Titanium, so I wanted to observe the range of colors I could develop from this base.

I therefore carried out tests by weighing the same quantity of " Litchi " glaze (already prepared) and adding different oxides in different proportions. The advantage of this imprecise method is that a large number of tests can be carried out quickly, without the need for extensive weighing. Following these tests, the most interesting ones, if any, can be confirmed by going back to the weighing method.

Here are the results of this first test, with Chrome added in different proportions:

Here, big surprise, a purplish pink appears, probably linked to Titanium Oxide. I knew that Chrome could turn pink with Tin, but there's no trace of Tin here! So I decided to try again, actually weighing each raw material and reducing the amount of Chromium, to see if the "violet" could be transformed into "pink":

I'm happy with the first two samples, including the one with the least Chromium. The result is a candy pink. I decide to continue testing by adding different quantities of Tin (horizontal) with different quantities of Chromium (vertical):

The result is not great (the green sample must correspond to an omission of Titanium Oxide).

I then decided to carry out tests on larger parts with a low concentration of Chromium:

I'm satisfied with the result, but to check whether the presence of tin has any influence, I use the same glaze base, adding 1% tin:

I see absolutely no difference. Therefore, this enamel will not contain any tin!

I then carry out my thickness test for this "Granité rose" enamel:

Here are a few pieces with this "Polar" enamel:

To obtain this "Polar" glaze, I started with my " Litchi" glaze. This very clear glaze contains a good quantity of titanium, so I was interested to see the range of colors I could develop from this base.

I therefore carried out tests by weighing the same quantity of " Litchi " glaze (already prepared) and adding different oxides in different proportions. This imprecise method has the advantage of enabling me to carry out a large number of tests quickly, without having to do a lot of weighing. Following these tests, the most interesting ones, if any, can be confirmed by going back to the weighing method.

Here is the result of this first test by adding Cobalt in different proportions:

Here, I retain the slightly bluish gray color which appears between the second and the third sample. I decide to try again by actually weighing each raw material in order to find the right amount of Cobalt Oxide corresponding:

The first sample suits me! So I decide to prepare a large quantity of enamel to test it on larger pieces:

I am fully satisfied with the result. I can imagine this Polar glaze for a maple, Dehojo in particular!

At the same time I realize my thickness test, even if, knowing the base of this enamel, the result is unlikely to be unexpected:

Here are some pieces made with this enamel:

It was through research into Iron Blue that I was able to develop this "Nénuphar" enamel.

Indeed, during the research, I was trying to make the enamel less runny and I used the cross method to achieve this:

Starting from the result at the top of the cross, I perform a test on a larger piece. I will try during this test to apply a different thickness on the piece to observe the result:

We have a heterogeneous result due to the differences in thickness.

I perform a thickness test with this formula:

I liked the result and decided to call the enamel "water lily".

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Here are some pieces made with this enamel:

In Daniel de Montmolin's book, it is indicated that iron blue can be obtained around diagram 25. So I went ahead and did a broad search on this diagram using the triangle method:

Differences in results are noticeable, results that can be obtained when you do research with good or less good surprises visible on this picture.

I decided to follow 2 paths:

The first one I will call iron blue around these 3 results:

and the second one I will name Iron Yellow, which you can continue to follow in this article: Iron Yellow.

Starting with these 3 samples, I add different proportions of bone ash. Still according to Daniel de Montmolin, phosphorus would help the appearance of blue:

I choose 3 samples to test on larger pieces (close-up):

Test of the 3 trials:

I choose the enamel from test #2 and proceed to a test on a large piece.

Surprise, disappearance of the iron blue

I lost the blue. A yellow enamel appears (interesting but not at all expected). What happened? The fact of having sifted the glaze? This particular firing?

I decide, in my next firing, to use this glaze again to confirm the absence of blue.

We can see that in the previous preparation, the blue has completely disappeared. Is this due to the fact that the enamel was left to rest for several weeks? The excess of water removed from this enamel may have caused a component previously diluted in water to disappear, which favored the appearance of the blue?

I prepare another quantity of enamel, this time without sifting (left) and sifting (right) :

With that, it's not easy to get away with it! Is it really the sieving that makes the blue disappear or is it a little less glaze thickness on the right sample?

Therefore, we will try again to test the thickness of this new preparation.
If we get no blue, it means that the enamel cannot be stored. If, for a greater thickness, we see blue, we can question the sieving hypothesis:

Here is a thickness test that looks like something... We realize that the thickness is essential and that explains the setbacks I had previously! On the other hand, the enamel is quite runny. We'll try to fix that!

To know which direction to take, we will make the method of the cross (by adding or removing SiO2 or AL2O3):

The selection of the enamel at the top of the cross, which appears less runny, enabled me to develop a new enamel: " nénuphar".

I made a large piece with the enamel of the center of the cross and finally decided to stop the research there.

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Here are some pieces made with this enamel "Grey speckled PACO":

To create this "Gris moucheté PACO" glaze my starting point was my Peau d'abricot glaze. I liked the speckled character of this glaze. So I carried out a series of tests using my Peau d'abricot glaze as a base, to which I added various oxides. The test with the addition of cobalt oxides caught my attention. Below, the addition of cobalt oxides in different proportions:

Sample n°2 retained, I thus keep this concentration in cobalt oxides.

I then proceed to a test on a larger room to observe the result:

The result is very satisfactory, we observe the formation of a bluish gray with an ochre speckle.

I decided to do a thickness test using this recipe(link to build a small tool to measure the thickness of the enamel) :

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Here are a few pieces made with this "navy blue" enamel:

I discovered this "Bleu Marine" enamel when I was researching a violet, in this case my " Bleuet".

Starting with my " Old Rose" glaze, I add cobalt oxide:

The red dot on the left will provide my " Bleuet" glaze. The red dot on the right is the start of the development of this "Bleu Marine" enamel.

I perform a test by adding more cobalt. Indeed, the sample with the highest concentration of cobalt shows me the beginnings of a night blue. Adding more cobalt should intensify this aspect and I perform the test on large parts:

The result is very good. We get a beautiful navy blue with a nice texture. I decide to try to make a thickness test (You have a small description of the manufacture of the tool here) :

I am fully satisfied with the result. I validate this new enamel!

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Here are a few pieces made with this "Pierre de lave" enamel:

This "Lava Stone" glaze came about during my search for an Iron Red. Indeed, after adding silica to make my Iron Red less runny, I noticed a dark red satin glaze tending towards black and with a little relief. I immediately imagine a lava-like glaze.

I decided to test this enamel with my famous thickness test (You have a small description of the manufacture of the tool here) :

We notice that at important thickness, the enamel becomes literally red, even flowing.
The image of lava is still present, I already imagine pieces whose enamel has this texture.

Before validating this glaze, I test it on larger pieces:

Although the glaze is more red than black, I like the look of it. It will be interesting to observe on pieces with more texture.

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Here are a few pieces made with this "Iron Red" enamel:

To obtain this glaze (Iron Red), I followed the same methodology as to obtain my Water Green glaze. Namely, I had my transparent oak ash based glaze to which I had added different oxides at different concentrations.

Here we can observe the addition of iron oxide at different concentrations:

With the highest iron concentration, we observe the appearance of red crystals. I explore this by adding silica:

This bodes well for a nice Iron Red! However, the glaze is quite runny, even with the sample with the most silica. I decide to continue in this direction and to add more silica:

Following this test, I observe 2 very interesting results! The one on the left, which I think will give me my Iron Red, and the one on the right, which gives me a slightly underfired glaze with a texture and color that can be exploited. You can follow the development of the "Pierre de lave" glaze (right) here.

I then decided to proceed with a thickness test on these 2 samples (you can find a small description of the tool manufacturing here):

Before validating this glaze, I test it on small pieces:

The result is very successful in my opinion. One of my most beautiful enamels!

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Here are a few pieces made with this "Peau d'abricot" enamel:

To create this "Peau d'abricot" enamel, I started with my white enamel, to which I added rutile in various proportions:

Samples 2 and 4 (red dot) hold my interest, so I keep these rutile concentrations.

Tin oxide (part of my white glaze) is a rather expensive raw material. According to the literature, it is possible to use zirconium silicate as a substitute. So I replace the tin oxide by zirconium silicate. I use the 2 concentrations of rutile selected above and vary the zirconium silicate in two different concentrations:

On the top, we find the low concentration of rutile and on the bottom the slightly higher concentration. The top tests seem a bit bland to me. Therefore, I abandon the tests with the lowest rutile concentration and concentrate on the sample (with the red dot), the one with the least zirconium silicate.

I decided to test a larger room to see the result:

Where the enamel thickness is greater, we find the slightly orange speckled aspect.

Unsuccessful attempts

At the same time, we observe the development of the orange hue with the increase of the rutile concentration. Therefore, I decide to increase it a little more:

The rutile concentration on the left gives the desired aspect. The 2 others give a more homogeneous and matte aspect which interests me less.

I add iron to this recipe to check if the orange color appears more pronounced :

This is an interesting test! I add it and comment it because we see that, in this case, we move away from the desired orange shade. At first we think, well, we've made a mistake and lost time. It's partly true... and many tests end up like that.

In order to stay in the process of obtaining more orange hue, I add a little bone ash:

then a little zinc oxide:

a little titanium oxide:

Finally, I decided to go back to the original sample during the zirconium test. I liked this aspect the most.

So I decided to do a thickness test using this recipe(link to build a small tool to measure the thickness of the enamel) :

That's it! After multiple tests, this enamel is validated!

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Here are a few pieces with this "Snail Slime" enamel:

To obtain this "Bave d'escargot" glaze, I followed the same methodology as for my Vert d'eau glaze. Namely, I had my Tressaillé transparent glaze based on oak ash. Then I added various oxides in different concentrations.

Here we can see the addition of green chromium oxide at different concentrations:

This is the first time I see chromium giving blue! I decide to continue the tests by varying the silica and by keeping the 2 concentrations tested above:

Below, test with high green chromium oxide concentration:

I find the look a little too "chemical" and "fluorescent", I don't really like it.

And below, second test with a lower concentration of green chromium oxide:

I have some difficulties to define the color obtained! Is it gray? White? Blue? Green? A mixture of all of these! Anyway, I like this shade!

I then decide to perform a thickness test (You have a small description of the tool making here) by adding a little green chromium oxide. For this, I place myself close to the sample with the low concentration above but much less than the tests with the high concentration of chromium oxide :

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