Clay Times Back Issues Vol. 2 Issue 3 • Mar/Apr 1996 | Page 17

The Slurry Bucket
Easy Glazing

Not A Shred of Evidence

Try using a metal kitchen sieve
to stir your glazes, to help break
up unwanted clumps of powder.
Once you’ve used up almost all of
your glaze and you’ve reached
bottom of the bucket, tilt the bucket upside down and use a rubber
kitchen spatula to scrape out the
last bit of glaze from the container.
(Once you use these tools for glazing, reserve them for use in the
studio only so you don’t run the
risk of contaminating food.)

When raku-firing copper
glazes, colors can be dramatically
different if you use shredded
paper for post-reduction burning
instead of sawdust or straw.
Excellent reduction can also be
obtained with dried leaves
(remove extra-large stems first, to
prevent marring of the glaze).

A Quick Release
If you use plaster or masonite
bats, keep a paint can lid remover
(a handled tool with wide-hooked
metal blade) next to your wheel to
help you quickly release your bats
from the wheelhead. To release,
stop the wheel, insert the wide
part of the blade between the bat
and w