Nora Meadows
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Research Mentor(s): Kathleen Tremel
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Ceramics Area- not a department / ART
Program:
Authors: Sarah Gery, Nora Meadows, Jay Petrowski, Kate Tremel
Session: Session 6: 3:40 pm -4:30 pm
Poster:
Abstract
The Ceramic Glaze Archive and Library is a physical archive of the research that has been conducted by students in the class Ceramic Materials Research and Experimentation at the Stamps School of Art & Design over the past three years. In this class, students learned basic concepts in glaze chemistry, the role of silica, alumina, alkaline metal fluxes, alkaline earth fluxes and colorants. Using an excel calculator developed by Matt Katz, students learned to manipulate the chemistry of a glaze by viewing the ingredients from the perspective of the Unity Molecular Formula. The calculator includes a graphing function that maps the level of silica (x axis) to the level of alumina (y axis) in a glaze onto Herman Stull’s map. This relationship predicts the melt of a glaze identifying if it is likely to be matt, gloss or under fired. Additionally, the calculator contains a map that predicts the boron needs of a stable glaze based on its fired temperature. Using the Katz Calculator students modified a gloss cone 10 glaze by substituting different alkaline metal and alkaline earth fluxes while maintaining the overall flux ratio and silica and alumina levels. These substitutions to the glaze recipe illustrate how the underlying chemistry of the fluxes affects appearance of a glaze and the color response from the oxides, carbonates and commercial stains. The goal of the project was to make glaze chemistry more digestible and readily available to students. To accomplish this, we created visual aids in the form of test tiles mounted onto boards to either be displayed or filed into a physical archive. We paired the visuals with written analyses of how different base materials interact with colorants to change the appearance of a glaze. We envision these materials being used as a teaching tool during classes in the studio, as well as a resource for students to continue their research of glaze chemistry.
