Tricks of the trade

Sensible potters down at the studio fire test tiles so they'll know exactly what results to expect from different glazes on the particular clay they're using. Me, meh, that just ruins the adventure. Of course, the blue bowl above is one of many instances where I would have benefited from a more cautious approach. The container of slip was clearly marked white. It looked greyish. It fired blue. Yes, the bucket was mislabeled, lucky me. There was nothing at all wrong with the glaze on the other two items pictured (a Tudor era watering pot, and a drug jar/storage pot). It is the exact same glaze, just on two different clays. I'm still not ready for the thorough pre-planning test tiles approach. I'm just too impatient.