Glazes: 1240- C (Ceramics Handbooks) [Paperback]

This is a well written book, probably the best there is on the subject. The book is exclusively about those glazes which are suitable for lower temperature stoneware pottery fired in an oxidizing kiln, probably electric, perhaps gas or wood, between 1220 and 1240 C (= 2228-2264 F), commonly known as cone 6. There are some glazes suitable for porcelain, but naturally there is nothing about reduction firing which can damage electric kiln elements.

Stoneware glazes are traditionally fired to cone 8 or 9 or 10 (1260-1300 C) but Michael Bailey convincingly argues that stoneware can be fired very successfully at a lower temperature, lowering electricity and other fuel costs, extending the life of the kiln, as well as being environmentally greener.

The book is an insightful investigation into the chemistry and technical practices of low-fired stoneware written in a knowledgeable concise style. Michael Bailey has a methodical scientific mind and has undertaken a vast amount of experimentation with glaze recipes to discover which glazes work well and which tend to end in failure. The author has consulted potters world-wide on their glaze composition and firing schedules, some of whose thoughts, and photos of their pottery, appear in the final chapter: "The Gallery, cone 6 in action".

The early chapters of the book develop several basic glazes: transparent, satin, matt, crystalline, high-alumina, high-alkaline earth, high-alkali, high-silicon, boric oxide glazes, Chun etc - all of which the potter-reader can then, if desired, develop further into their own unique glazes by the addition of varying percentages of colouring oxides to these base recipes. The remarkable results possible are demonstrated by 275 full-colour photos of test tiles. There are also a number of photos of thumb pots and slab dishes that have been dipped in the relevant glazes.

Although glazing is essentially a scientific subject, and often quite complex, Michael Bailey explains everything in a clear precise language that is fully comprehensible, equally to the amateur and professional potter. The mysterious scientific principles governing glaze formulation are revealed. Recipes are given in two formats: by percentage weights/ as an unitary formula. Coefficients of expansion are given which are helpful in getting glaze and clay body to fit each other well. There are a number of graphs, called scattergrams, which display the silica-alumina component balance or imbalance, essential both to reveal and predict the optimum variation range for best-fit, least crazing glazes, and the avoidance of other problems. Technically this book gives you everything you need to know about problem free glazes, but it also provides recipes for glazes of a very high aesthetic quality.

Later in the book there are chapters on orange-red iron glazes, lustre glazes, and raw or "once-fired" glazes. There is an appendix containing a thorough chemical analysis of pottery materials as well as a glossary which explains all the specialist pottery terminology. The book is crammed with facts, insights, analysis, explanations, and detailed advice.

This is a book well worth reading because, by developing your understanding of the principles of glaze composition, you will save yourself from those many sadnesses and disappointments upon opening the kiln after firing and discovering disasters, both major and minor. Alternatively you can ignore all the scientific explanations and simply use the many beautiful recipes in the book for trouble-free glazing. This book is a benevolent gift of years, perhaps lifetimes, of patient development work by Michael Bailey and his generous colleagues, sharing their knowledge with the aspiring potters of the world. It is a quite brilliant book.

This book seems to cover it all for low fire stoneware glazes. I am inspired to try mixing my own glazes now.