piece with nickel oxide crystal glazing
All objects are hand-thrown and glazed with a thin quartz layer.
This quartz is the base of several recepies with alkalis, alkaline earths and metal oxides, developed in the workshop. For crystalline glazes a recepy with a lot of zinc oxide is used. This glaze is fused over the object at 1275 degrees Celcius. The pieces have to stay in the oven for over 40 hours, in a special athmosphere and under specific conditions of viscosity. This leads to crystallization. Each object is unique and has its own special crystals and colours. The prisms of the crystals stand out best in spot lights.
With Raku objects the quartz mixture is fused onto the piece at 1050 degrees Celsius. The object is then taken out of the red hot oven to continue burning in a wood kiln. The thermic shock causes the pieces to crack, thus forming the crackle which makes it unique. Raku is a traditional Japanese technique. Go to photogallery.