Tenmoku and Shino
We have a bright yellow baby 3ft kiln. It was put on the back of the trailer in Whanganui, and then trekked back up the North Island over the summer, until finally making its way to the carport where it now spends its time bisc firing and glaze firing our experimental ceramics.
We have had our fair share of interesting ‘learning opportunities’ through trial and error firings. This Easter we tried two new glazes - a dark ‘Tenmoku’ and a sage ‘Shino’…. then held our breath as we opened the kiln.
The original Tenmoku was a type of Chinese (and then Japanese) pottery, that was actually a style of tea bowls designed for Matcha tea. The glazes used were specially prized for their randomness - they can vary in colour from black, to plum, yellow or brown. The variations are caused by the iron oxide and the way they respond to the clay body during the firing and cool down stages. Typically a Cone 10 firing is required for some of the unique features of a Tenmoku glaze to occur (eg. oil-spotting and hares fur texture) - however in our case, the baby kiln simply can’t reach that temperature - so the recipe has been adapted for a lower firing temp. The glaze worked well on black, red and white clay and we were pleasantly surprised at the iridescence and deep plum colour variation it achieved. Looking forward to being able to experiment with it more.
The ‘Shino’ Glaze, again has been adapted from something that would typically be used in a reduction kiln fire to Cone 10, and is quite different today from its origins of a satin milky white glaze on Japanese Shino ware in the 16th Century. Highly variable it is famed for its pinholing (considered flaws in other glazes, but prized in a shino finish especially on chawan teabowls) and breaking a deeper brown colour on the thinner areas, and more opaque where it is thickly applied. It creates a beautiful wabi sabi texture to a piece, highlighting its unique characteristics and handmade quality. This glaze for us has proven a bit trickier to get to grips with - but this firing showed us the potential of what it can be when the different parameters are met successfully.
Proud of the baby kilns efforts - now with the tests completed, its time to challenge her (and us) in the coming weeks with some larger pieces!
