Understanding Crystalline Glazes in Pottery

Pottery is one among the finest forms of arts. There are many forms of pottery but one particular form of pottery always astonishes people. Crystalline Glazes in Pottery is a delicate art, which is loved by a lot of potters. Getting the correct recipe of crystalline glazes alone will help a potter to make crystals on the glaze. Crystals will take shape only when the chemicals are accurately amalgamated, if not the glaze will not get crystals on it. To make a crystalline glaze, a potter should be very patient and the amalgamation must be perfect. Let’s spend some time enjoying the crystalline glaze in pottery.

This is how it is made marvelously

Crystals on crystalline glazing are formed while cooling and solidifying the glazes. The crystals will be uneven and floating. Many people admire this quality of the crystals around the world. Crystals vary in sizes because they take their form when the glaze is cooled. The main ingredients in making a crystalline glaze are zinc oxide and silica. They combine to form zinc silicate. Apart from these ingredients, sodium, lithium, calcium, magnesium, carbon, and potassium are also involved in making crystalline glazes.

After mixing these ingredients, they can be fired. Firing is the most important process in making crystalline glazes. The time zone differs from pot to pot but generally, slow firing is highly recommended. The crystals will gradually occur on the glazes when they are cooled down. A fine crystal will look like a flower. Most of the times the crystals will be in different sizes and forms. When the materials melt the crystal that survives for a longer time forms the larger crystals. The presence of oxides makes the crystals get a different color from the glaze.

Firing

Crystals cannot grow very soon so it takes a long time. When a crystal glaze reaches a thousand hundred and forty degree Celsius crystals will slowly pop up like a needle. When it is cooled down to a thousand hundred Celsius, the crystals slowly take their shape. Between a thousand ninety degree, Celsius and a thousand ten degree Celsius the crystals will grow up fully. They normally take rounded flower-like structure.

Potters use colorants like nickel, copper, iron, manganese, and cobalt. Glazes always expand so using the above colorants will give an attractive finish to the glazes. Among the colorants gold, uranium, and silver are used very rarely. Potters use colorants according to the size and structure of the crystals on a glaze. After analyzing the structure, they will decide on a suitable colorant.

Admiring Crystalline Glazes in Pottery

Though making crystalline glazes in pottery is tough, many people love to admire their beauty. Crystalline glazes are painstakingly made by many potters, so they are costly. But it is worth spending money on them. If any one ingredient is less or more we cannot get crystals. So the potters must be very careful and alert when they mix the chemicals. Many people think that the concept involved in making crystalline glazes as complex but the truth is it is very simple to make crystalline glazes when they are made with passion.
Colors make our life more colorful likewise seeing a lot of beautiful crystals in a pot will definitely make us feel relaxed and happy. The minute particles present in a pot can make a tremendous change in our mood.