08 BuyersGuideTO CERAMI C SUPPLIE S AND MATERIAL S FIND Manufacturers Suppliers Kilns Pottery Wheels Slab Rollers Extruders Clays Glazes Tools Tile Bisque Books Videos STUDIO REFERENCE Technical Information Buying Information Recipes Firing Chart Glossary Suggestions ...and more! A supplement to Ceramics Monthly and Pottery Making Illustrated TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 How Glazes Melt by Dave Finkelnburg 5 Primary Function of Common Ceramic Materials by Mimi Obstler 6 The Many Faces of Iron by Dr. Carol Marians 9 Brushes for China Painting by Paul Lewing 13 Kenny Delio’s Subtle Glazes by Myra Bellin 15 Darren Emenau’s Texture Glaze by Mandy Ginson 17 Buying a Raku Kiln by Steven Branfman 19 Raku Glazes by Steven Branfman 20 Selecting a Clay 21 Perfect Plaster by Bill Jones 22 The Battle of the Bulge by Arnold Howard 23 How Low Voltage Effects Firing Time by Arnold Howard 24 Suggestions 26 The Degrees of Kiln Firing 27 Using Cones by Tim Frederich 28 Glossary of Common Terms by Vince Pitelka 0 8 TO CERAMIC SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS 52 Glossary of Common Ceramic Raw Materials BuyersGuide FIND Manufacturers Suppliers by Vince Pitelka Kilns Pottery Wheels Slab Rollers Extruders Clays Glazes 32 Buyers Guide Geographic and Product Locator Tools Tile Bisque Books Videos STUDIO 41 Buyers Guide Company Directory REFERENCE Technical Information Buying Information Recipes Firing Chart Glossary Suggestions ...and more! On the Cover: Tracy Gamble trims a foot on a vessel. Photo by David Gamble. A supplement to Ceramics Monthly and Pottery Making Illustrated Copyright © 2008 Ceramic Publications Company | 2 WELCOME elcome to the 2008 Buyers Guide to Ceramic Supplies and Materials, a valuable resource you’ll use throughout the coming year. This 2008 Buyers Guide to Ceramic comprehensive studio reference contains information pub- Supplies and Materials A Supplement to Ceramics Monthly and lished in Ceramics Monthly, Pottery Making Illustrated and some of Pottery Making Illustrated Wthe books we publish. Publisher Charles Spahr Equipment and Supplies Editors Bill Jones Pottery Making Illustrated In this year’s Guide, we’ve included information on buying a raku kiln, se- Sherman Hall Ceramics Monthly lecting commercial clays, and a few tips on some kiln maintenance issues. To Associate Editor Jennifer Poellot locate equipment and supplies, turn to our Geographic Locator and you’ll find Editorial Assistant a handy chart that will tell you at a glance who supplies what and where. Brandy Agnew Editorial Telephone: (614) 895-4213 Studio Reference Fax: (614) 891-8960 To help you increase your understanding of ceramics, you’ll find the article Graphic Design & Production on how glazes work most informative, and the glossaries of terms and materi- Production Editor Cyndy Conklin Advertising als invaluable. If you just want to try a few new glazes, turn to recipes from [email protected] Kenny Delio or Darren Emenau or review the criteria for raku glazes from Ste- Telephone: (614) 794-5834 Fax: (614) 891-8960 ven Branfman. We’ve also touched on how to mix plaster and included a guide Advertising Manager Mona Thiel to the wide assortment of brushes used for china painting and brushwork. Advertising Services Jan Moloney Marketing Telephone: (614) 794-5809 Company Directory Marketing Manager Steve Hecker The Company Directory serves as the “yellow pages” of the ceramic studio Editorial and Advertising offices 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210 arts scene. We’ve listed more than 330 companies involved in some way with Westerville, Ohio 43082 USA meeting the needs of the studio potters or clay artist. From the Geographic ceramicartsdaily.org Locator, you may discover new resources near your own home. Or perhaps 2008 Buyers Guide to Ceramic Supplies and Materials is a supplement to Pottery Making Illustrated (ISSN 1096-830X) you’ll locate three nearby suppliers from whom you can get cost estimates for and Ceramics Monthly (ISSN 0009-0328) and is published by The American Ceramic Society, 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite your next major purchase. The Company Directory gives you most complete 210, Westerville, Ohio 43082. and convenient listing you’ll ever find. Better than searching the Internet, bet- Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the editors or The American ter than looking through receipts for a store number, and better than sorting Ceramic Society. Photocopies: Permission to photocopy for personal or through scraps of paper with names written on them—the Company Directory internal use beyond the limits of Sections 107 and 108 of puts it all in one place at one time. Enjoy the convenience of having the infor- the U.S. Copyright Law is granted by The American Ceramic Society, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to mation you need to help accomplish your artistic goals right at your fingertips. Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 USA; (978) 750-8400; www.copyright.com. Prior to photocopying items for educational classroom use, please Enjoy this supplement, keep it nearby and happy potting! contact Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. This consent does not extend to copying items for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, or to republishing items in whole or in part in any work and in any format. Please direct republication or special copying permis- sion requests to the Ceramic Arts Publisher, The American Ceramic Society, 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210, Wester- ville, OH 43082. Copyright © 2008 The American Ceramic Society All rights reserved ceramicartsdaily.org Bill Jones Sherman Hall Editor Editor Pottery Making Illustrated Ceramics Monthly Copyright © 2008 Ceramic Publications Company | 3 HoW Glazes melt by Dave FinkelnburG iddle me this,” commanded Arthur (Art) Clay as we labored diligently in What is a Phase and why do I care? the studio. “What do art professors Phases are specific forms of materials. The most familiar lecture about, yet no human being phases are solid, liquid and vapor. Any phase of a mate- “Rhas ever seen? Come to think of it,” he added, chewing rial is identical in composition and structure in all parts of that phase. For instance, a glass of water is the liquid thoughtfully on the handle of one of my best trimming phase of H2O, top to bottom; if it weren’t, we’d call it tools, “no human ever will see it.” something else, like ice if it were solid (structural change), or lemonade if it had lemon and sugar dissolved in it “Do I get any clues here?” I asked, taking the bait. (compositional change). “It’s genuinely important to anyone who works with anything ceramic,” he offered. In ceramics, many phases come into play: The solid phase “I thought it might be.” I gave him my best can’t-you- of raw materials, the liquid phase of a molten glaze ma- trix, the glass phase of fired, cooled glaze. Throughout the be-more-helpful look. firing process, both chemical and structural changes take “Well, although most artists don’t realize it, all ceramics place, meaning the phase of the material changes. Quartz, make use of it.” My glare may have been slightly petulant. for example, is a crystal phase of silica. All parts of quartz have the same chemical composition (SiO2) and the same “Why, you could even say it’s—elemental!” he grinned. hexagonal crystal structure. A glossy glaze, however, is “You aren’t,” I asked, with painfully measured words, made up of only a glass phase. It’s chemical composition is still SiO , but it is no longer crystalline. “going off on another rant about a eutectic, are you?” 2 “The elusive eutectic!” Art positively shouted. I might have rolled my eyes, because he quickly added, “Listen Okay, I think I got it, or at least I knew where to look Professor Line blend, you mix glaze tests until I posi- if I needed to get it later, so I read on. “For example, if, tively want to puke. None of that stuff would ever melt on a cold winter night in Yellowknife, you make a line if it weren’t for a eutectic.” blend of finely powdered ice (crystalline phase of H2O) “You know I’m visual,” I said honestly. “I need to see and fine salt (crystalline phase of NaCl), and then warm what happens when I fire something.” up the blends, the blend that is 23.3% salt by weight will “You can see it in a phase diagram,” he cried, throwing melt first. It will melt at a lower temperature than any up his hands as if everyone should know what a phase other mixture of salt and ice which you might make. The diagram is. eutectic composition is 23.3 weight percent salt in ice.” “Right, and everyone should understand the cryptic “Hey Art, that actually makes sense!” I looked up, ex- chemical mumbo jumbo phase diagrams use,” I said, pecting to see Art beaming. Instead, he looked a bit—anx- “and be able to interpret them, too. How can that gobble- ious. dygook tell me anything?” “That is what a phase diagram can tell you” he said. “For “You—could try—reading.” The cadence of Art’s two components, like salt and water, the diagram looks like words revealed his impatience, but he almost smiled as that binary diagram there on the next page. Up the side you studio reference | glazes he jammed a paper at me. read the temperature and across the bottom is the composi- “In Search of the Elusive Eutectic—an Essay,” by Ar- tion. You could think of the bottom line, the horizontal axis, thur Clay, read the title. “In all ceramic raw materials,” as a line blend.