KNOWLEDGE GROUNDINGS I

Crags and Crevices

Glaze surface
rubbed down
to reveal craters

RVS2 01%
SiCQ RVS3 (2%SiC) RVS4 (3% SiCI RVS5 (4% SiQ

MIKE BAILEY INVESTIGATES THE MYSTERIES OF CRATERED AND VOLCANIC GLAZES.
At first sight blistered and pin-holed glazes may seem a strange choice for
potters to use. However, the textures that are created make for an engaging
range of surface qualities. The effects can be quite subtle with occasional
pin-holes breaking through the glaze to very thick churned-up encrustations.
As a non-functional type of glaze, at least interms of being able to form
a waterproof surface, they tend to be used on the outside of pots and for
sculptures. Their rock-like appearance is greatly favoured, and is seen
as appropriate, for certain styles of pottery used by bonsai tree growers.
Eruptive glazes are formed by the evolution of gases that bubble up
through the glaze layer and can be produced in a variety of ways; all of
which may be combined.
"* Silicon carbide This is probably the most frequently used 'special'
ingredient and a few percent added to any glaze recipe is virtually
guaranteed to produce blisters of some kind.
"* Under-fired glazes Either by deliberately constructing a high clay
and feldspar glaze, which would essentially be in an under-fired state at
stoneware temperatures, or by deliberately under-firing a known glaze.
"* Double-dipping with contrasting glaze type This could be either using
an earthenware glaze under a stoneware glaze or refractory glaze
under a more fusible one.
SIUCON CARBIDE Silicon carbide, SiC, is a hard and highly refractory material.
It is used as a grinding media and for making kiln elements and shelves that
can withstand high temperatures and a reducing atmosphere. Within a glaze
the silicon carbide begins to break down at temperatures above 1000'C; both
the silicon and the carbon seek oxygen from the surrounding glaze, forming
silica Si0 2 and carbon dioxide CO 2 respectively. This creates a localised area
of reduction that can be exploited to make celadon and copper-red glazes
in an electric kiln. The small amount of extra silica that is produced presents
few problems as it simply joins in with the glass structure and it is the carbon
dioxide that brings about the cratered effect by breaking out through the glaze.
AMOUNT OF SILICON CARBIDE Adding between 1and 5% of silicon carbide
to a glaze will produce a bubbled surface. For example a 1%and a 5%
addition to the glaze MBI (listed below) is shown in image 1.This initial set of
tests used a very fine source of silicon carbide with a particle size of 1200's
grade and similar results were obtained with other satin/satin-matt glazes.
Adding silicon carbide to bright transparent glazes is sometimes best
avoided as the bubbles that are produced tend to be easily broken and
with sharp edges.
MB1 A semi opaque, satin matt, cone 8-9
Five equal parts glaze %dry weight
Potash feldspar 20.0
Ball clay (Hyplas 71) 20.0
Whiting 20.0
Talc 20.0
Flint or quartz 20.0
Total 100.0
+ 1 and 5% silicon carbide (1200's grade)
POST-FIRING ALTERATION Adding silicon carbide directly into a glaze
sometimes produces a rather friable surface in which the bubbles are weak
and easily damaged. It is possible, however, to quickly don a facemask and
the blisters can easily be rubbed down with, for example, a piece of broken
kiln shelf to produce a far more stable, cratered moonscape effect (image 1).
REACTIVE VOLCANIC SLIP BASE GLAZE There are two main advantages
in producing cratered glazes by double-dipping:
* Only one or two gas-emitting base glazes are needed. These can
then be used and tested under 'normal' glazes, which also means that
additional glaze batches do not have to be made up specifically just
for making crater glazes. Satin and matt glazes work particularly well
as they are less fluid than transparent shiny glazes and tend not to
smooth out too readily.

CERAMIC REVIEW
239 September/October 2009
 I Effect of 1%and 5% addition of silicon
carbide with post-firing treatment
2 Readive volcanic slips RVS1-RVS5
3 Thumb pot with RVS5 beneath MB2
4 Thumb pot with RVS5 beneath MB3
5 Thumb pot with RVS4 beneath MB4

* It is quite often the case that the fired glaze surface tends to be stronger
ifthe silicon carbide is added to the base glaze rather than to a single-
dip glaze.

The reactive volcanic slip base glaze such as RVS1 can be quite 'gentle',
producing pin-holes and small craters when fired beneath a glaze such
as the semi-opaque satin matt glaze MB1. Adding silicon carbide to this
base glaze RVS2-RVS5 (Table 1)increases the volcanic activity and is shown
in image 2.

Table 1 RVS1 RVS2 RVS3 RVS4 RVS5

Nepheline syenite 60.0 60.0 60.0 60.0 60.0
Hyplas 71 ball clay 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0
Red iron oxide 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
Silicon carbide 1200's 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0

Images 3, 4 and 5 show the reactive volcanic slip RVS5 beneath three satin
matt stoneware glazes (their recipes are given in the Notes and Glaze Recipes
section at the end of this article).

WHICH GRADE OF SIUCON CARBIDE? In the examples shown here (image

6) a 4% addition of various grades of silicon carbide ranging from coarse
20's through to a very fine 1200's grade were added to a simple crater slip
(potash feldspar 60% plus Hyplas 71 ball clay 40%) and applied beneath the
glaze MB2 listed at the end of this article. The coarse 20's, 60's and 80's
grades had to be stirred into the base glazes after they had been prepared
as otherwise the silicon carbide particles were retained on the sieve. The
base glazes containing the finer silicon carbide, especially the 400's, 600's
and 1200's grades, were the most reactive and produced the typical large
pin-holed and cratered surfaces whereas the coarser 20's- 80's remained
as inert and unfused dark grey speckles. However, it is worth noting that
some potters give recipes using only the coarse grades (below 200's) so
there is clearly plenty of scope for testing.
CRATERED GLAZES - EARTHENWARE AND STONEWARE COMBINATIONS
Gilly Whittington first came across crater glazes when she worked for the
potter Suzanne Bergne, who created craters by using silicon carbide in
her glazes. Whilst she liked the effect she had no thought of using similar
glazes in her own work. Some years later though, while intending to use a
blue coloured slip under a dry white glaze, she admits that a serendipitous
mistake occurred. Somewhat to her amazement what emerged from the fire
was a mass of bubbles and, remembering that Suzanne Bergne had ground
down the bubbles to obtain the craters, she found that inside the craters was
a lovely shiny pool of colour. After some tests it was discovered that what
had been painted on the original pot was not a slip but a transparent blue
earthenware glaze and, since then, with minor adjustments, that is what
she has used. She reports that by varying the thickness of the earthenware
glaze layer you get more or fewer bubbles. In her work she aims at judging
the thickness of the glazes to coincide with a firing temperature that enables
the crater glaze to start to ooze down the pot and create a slightly random
landscape effect (images 7, 8 and 9). Full details of the glaze recipes and
methods of application are given inthe Notes and Glaze Recipes section
at the end of this article.

CERAMIC REVIEW239 September/October 2009 6r

 6 4% addition of various grades of silicon
carbide 7 Blue crater glazed vase by Gilly
Whitlington 8 Ochre-yellow crater pot
by Gilly Whittington 9 Dark-brown crater
glazed vase by Gilly Whittington 10 Bonfire/
raku fired beaker by Rebecca Manley

220's SiC

The creation of cratered and volcanic glazes is not restricted to stoneware

temperatures. For example, the beaker by Rebecca Manley (image 101 was
tired in an open wood fire, reaching temperatures of approximately 950-
1000'C. Made from slip-cast white earthenware and bisque fired to between
cone 07 and 06 (1000°C) the glazing is a combination at the two glazes RM1
and RM2. Different effects can be achieved by varying the thickness and the
layering. Reduction takes place within the wood-fired atmosphere and re-
oxidation of the copper is prevented by the work being drawn from the heat
and plunged into water for 10 seconds.
There seems to be little distinction made between the terms 'crater'
and 'volcanic' to describe this type of glaze and they are often used

66
CERAMIC REVIEW239 September/October 2oo9
 r

Further reading Frank and Janet Hamer,
'Crater glazes', The Potter'sDictionaryof
Materialsand Techniques,A&C Black
Acknowledgements My thanks to
Rebecca Manley and Gilly Whittington
for supplying recipes, images and
information about their crater glazes
Silicon carbide Most pottery suppliers
sell silicon carbide although it is advisable
to check which grades are available as
some only sell a coarse version. The
various grades of silicon carbide used for
the tests in this article were supplied by
Paul Jeffery, Lapidary Supplies and
Earth Crystal UK, Troon, Camborne,
Cornwall Tel 01209 614511
Web www.delscope.demon.co.uk/
mfle/lapidaryOl.htm

interchangeably. Arguably 'crater' is a better description for the more defined

pits and depressions as seen, for example, in images 1,4 and 7 in this article.
Glazes such as RVS3-RVS5, seen in images 2 and 3, have a more eruptive,
lava flow feel to them and perhaps 'volcanic' would be a more suitable way
to describe them.

NOTES AND GLAZE RECIPES Recipes for glazes used in images 3, 4 and 5.
Double-dipped over RVS5 and fired in electric kiln to cone 8 (1260'C).

RVS5 Image 3 Image 4 Image 5

First MB2 satin MB3 satin MB4
glaze semi-opaque matt barium Matt blue
white green
Potash feldspar 60.0 25.0 49.0 29.0
Barium carbonate 27.0
Dolomite 12.5 13.8
Whiting 12.5 14.0 13.8
Zinc oxide 5.0
China clay 24.4
Hyplas 71 ball clay 40.0 25.0 9.0
Bentonite 1.0
Quartz 25.0 14.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Base glaze plus:

Silicon carbide (fine) 4.0
Red iron oxide 10.0
Copper carbonate 2.5
Cobalt oxide 1.1

NOTES OF GLAZES AND METHODS SUPPLIED BY GILLY WHITTINGTON

Earthenware glazes GW1 GW2 GW3
Low expansion frit 80.0 80.0 80.0
Hyplas 71 ball clay 20.0 20.0 20.0
Cobalt oxide 0.5
Yellow stain 10.0

Dry matt ash glaze GW4

Potash feldspar 9.2
Whiting 17.5
Wood ash 18.3
China clay 55.0

Blue vase (Image 7) Cratered areas produced by: 2 Two horizontal latex bands painted on outside of pot Ithe light grey
1 Two coats of blue earthenware glaze IGW21. areas).
2 Two coats of dry matt ash glaze 1GW4). 3 Pot glazed inside and outside with dry matt ash glaze IGW4).
Fired to cone 9 (1280*C) reducing from 9000C. 4 Latex bands removed.
Post-firing rubbing down of bubbles to leave craters. 5 Two coats of earthenware glaze (GWI) painted on banded areas
6 The earthenware glaze covered by two coats of dry matt ash glaze
Ochre-yellow crater pot (Image 8) Multiple slip and glaze layers with latex (GW41.
resist as follows: Fired to cone 9 (1280'C)reducing from 900'C.
I Four wavy horizontal latex bands painted around outside of pot, which Post-firing rubbing down of bubbles to leave craters.
become the green cratered areas.
2 Pot glazed inside and out with dry matt ash glaze (GW4) with added iron GLAZE RECIPES AND NOTES FROM REBECCA MANLEY
oxide. RM1 blue low-fire glaze
3 Latex removed. High alkali trit lOOg
4 Three coats of earthenware glaze plus 10% yellow stain IGW3) painted on Cobalt oxide lg
to bare areas left by latex resist. Silicon carbide (80's mesh) log
5 Earthenware glaze covered by two coats of matt ash glaze (GW4).
Fired to cone 9 11280*C) reducing from 9000C. RM2 earthenware glaze
Post-firing rubbing down of bubbles to leave craters. Botz/9352 Crackle Turquoise 146ccs
(ready-mixed commercial glaze)
Dark brown pot (Image 9) Multiple slip and glaze layers with latex resist Silicon carbide (80's mesh) lOg
as follows:
1 Black slip on inside and outside before biscuit firing Image 10 Two layers of RM1 followed by two layers of RM2. E

CERAMIC REVIEW239 September/October 2009 67

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TITLE: Crags and Crevices

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