This is a shiny warm black glaze by Ron Roy in Canada, that is in the Kaki family of classic Japanese glazes. The black breaks to Kaki brown over ridges, rims and designs. It will take decorative elements of blue, red, green and gold speckle.

Yellow Salt came to us from a potter in Colorado. It is a light yellow with a “buttery” semi matte surface that just begs to be touched. Sometimes breaks brown over edges or gets some light brown speckling from iron. Sensitive to firing atmosphere and glaze thickness.

Iron Red is, like Old Black Magic, in the classic Japanese Kaki family. It doesn’t have as much iron and gives a varying red, rust brown glaze. Very beautiful when it really works. Sensitive to application thickness.

Bringle Green is a dark, semi-transparent green in the ash glaze family, invented by Cindy Bringle. Very runny and can do interesting things over other glazes if you can keep it on the pot. I especially like it with Yellow Salt. On bowls this can be especially striking.

Starry Night came from Donna and Wally Wold, close friends of Betsy’s who mentored us into pottery. I’ve never seen this anywhere else. The basic glaze is a dark gray bluish black with speckles in it. Wally used to sprinkle Illmenite powder to increase the speckling. I’m having fun puttting it up against other light glazes like Yellow Salt and Old Korean Celadon. It also does wonderful things with blue and red accents. I use it in memory of Donna and Wally.

Wirt Shino was not invented by me, but my sister Virginia who is the real potter in the family, but gave it up. It was a mainstay glaze of Warren Mackenzie and was known for many years as University Carbon Trap. Shino glazes were very much treasured in Japan. This is a modern day version using modern materials. With Shinos, you can get wide variety from beautiful oranges to white to smoky black, often all on the same pot depending of glaze thickness, application, firing atmosphere and temperature and time.

When we first started pottery, we went to an exhibit of ancient Korean Celadons in the Chicago Art Institute exhibit of the Ataka Collection. There were a wide variety of shades and effecs. It was published in an exhibit book “The Radiance of Jade, and the Clarity of Water” although most of the Korean celadons were quite milky and often finely speckled. This glaze is affected by thickness on application and firing atmosphere. When perfect it is that milky light green with almost invisible speckling. also works beautifully with Old Black Magic and Iron Red.

COMING SOON!