Crystalline Glaze w/ Wild Clay
In my ongoing research using wild clay as a glaze material, I became curious—could I create a crystalline glaze using wild clay? My goal was to develop a wild clay crystalline glaze to use on a teapot for an upcoming exhibition.
Knowing that Kate had specialized in crystalline glazes during her BFA studies, I reached out for her guidance. Since many crystalline glaze recipes include clay, we began by searching for a suitable base recipe. We found one on Glazy and decided to substitute the clay component with wild clay—clay from my home and some from the lay-down yard. Kate shared her process for mixing and applying crystalline glazes, and we began testing. In our first firing, we followed a ring schedule and waited eagerly to see if crystals would form. When we opened the kiln, the results were surprising. The clay from the lay-down yard produced a matte, cloudy glaze, while the clay from my home yielded a beautiful pale yellow glaze with visible crystal growth. However, my pots developed fewer crystals compared to those made with Kate’s crystalline clay body. She shared her recipe with me, and I began refining from there.
For the next firing, we extended the hold time in hopes of growing larger crystals. The result was a sparse crystal pattern on a white background. From there, I started experimenting with different firing schedules. However, those tests produced minimal or no crystal growth. I turned to Kate again for advice and discovered that my glaze application had been too thin. With this feedback, I continued refining the process and eventually found a firing schedule that worked.
Although I wasn’t able to complete the teapot in time for the exhibition, the entire process was an invaluable learning experience.
