Projects: Pinch-Pot Glaze Test

a sample Handcraft Village project

Transformation of Substance by Fire
 
Blacksmithing is a pretty straight-forward enterprise; iron becomes soft when it's heated and can then be shaped by means of various techniques. 

Our forge is made from a material called cob. It's a mixture of materials dug out of the nearby landscape. The cob undergoes a more extreme tranformation than iron does when it's subjected to the levels of temperature produced in our little forge: It melts. Not only that, it apparently undergoes some chemical changes that result in these beautiful shades of the color blue.

Curiosity must be like a fire in the soul. We are transformed by it from blacksmiths into potters and change from working in the realm of form to experimenting in the realm of essence. Can we produce this same color blue deliberately on a ceramic vessel?

We return to a nearby site where we dig a material called Lodgement Till.

The lodgement till is mixed with clay, wood ash, and water. These materials are ground in a mortar and pestle, then applied to the surface of a small pinch pot.

We place the pot in our forge and increase the heat gradually. 

After the fire cooled down here's what we found.