The Return of Ducks Head

I have been waiting a long time to make this announcement...and so have many of you. Ducks Head Black is finally back. It has taken a lot longer than I thought it would to reformulate this incredible combination of black, silver, green, blue and iridescence. First it was too black, then it was too green, then it was too iridescent. If I got all of these qualities in balance, the glaze wouldn't suspend well or wouldn't apply well or wouldn't form a solid coating when raw. Potters don't judge a glaze solely on its fired appearance and that can make the road a long one indeed.

And it's premature to suggest that I have reached th end of that road on this one. in fact, every glaze I have formulated will be in the "tweaking" stage for a long time to come. That is no less true of Ducks Head. In addition, this particular glaze is very finicky with regard to application. Like Heather Blue, there is a fine line between too thin and too thick. Experience and practice will take care of that.

Of course, the cruel irony in that is the fact that the cold weather is rapidly approaching. As I write this, we are having our first snow storm. Check out the date on this post. We do expect things to get better for the next week or so, but I'm getting the hint. It will be time to shut down the studio and drain the water pipes very soon. To compensate, I'm doing as much glazing in Ducks Head and Ducks Head & Turquoise as I can so that I can have at least a modest stock of items. I'll be focusing on mugs and other small items.

When I do close the studio for the season, I'll be posting a complete inventory list on the web site so that people cans ee what is available in the off season. In addition, I'll be working in my home studio producing some items as well.

It's time to go back to the tile project now.

Coming up: Building a new studio in 2012...?