Battle of the bowls

 Here's a link to the battle of the bowls - a juried show/competition of bowls.

http://www.thebattleofthebowls.com/

Now that all the holiday partying is over, it was time to get in some studio time which I did yesterday. Got a few pots glazed and batched a couple of black slip tests.  I had some very old Pemco black stain on hand - enough for a test and a small test bucket of slip if the small test works. Since it takes 15% stain for a slip, and stains are so pricy, it would be nice to have the oxides test work just as well.

Today's studio to do list: weigh out a rich, warm yellow slip and a small test batch of a bright green liner glaze, now that I found the apple green stain that I've been looking for on U.S. Pigment. That company is a great place with excellent prices for oxides, stains and a few other materials. The quality of their products is high. I've used this company for years and highly recommend them.

But the first job of the day will be to clean up the few pots I glazed yesterday and get them in the tiny test kiln. I put the glaze on a bit thinner this time (still getting to know this clear glaze of mine), and then glaze the last flat test tile. I have two of these with some combination tests of under glazes and the two new black slips.

Since I couldn't find any information of the oxide contents of this old Pemco black, I didn't want to risk a whole bucket full, so I just batched a couple of hundred gram test using 15% of it which is the percentage I used with a Mason stain I had on hand. That test came out great, but I just didn't have enough of that stain left and it was time to use this old Pemco that I bought at an estate sale way too many decades ago. It's  been taking up shelf space, as an unknown, far too long.