Fazes

Handbuilt vessels with Rare Earth Oxide Crystalline glazes

Full: H: 5.25 " D: 5.5" | New: H: 5.75" D: 3.25" | Gibbous: H: 5" D: 5.5"

Half: H: 6.25" W: 4.25" L: 3.25" | Crescent: H: 5.25" D (Approx): 4.75"

To further both my understanding and the collective knowledge of ceramics I procured and tested 7 rare earth oxide colorants in 4 different crystalline glazes. Isolating 4 compositions for the 4 main crystal glaze types: Zinc, Zinc Free, Aventurine, and Molybdenum, I proceeded to add 7% by weight of each colorant to the glaze base. The oxides used are as follows: Erbium, Cerium, Lanthanum, Neodymium, Europium, Praseodymium, and Holmium. These tests were then fired in a specialty cone 6 electric firing to achieve peak crystal development. With these results, I carefully selected 5 of these crystal glazes to adorn the moon phase jars, focusing on their special reactions to light as well as texture. The full moon jar has a Zinc crystal glaze with Europium oxide, which fluoresces bright orange under ultraviolet light. The new moon jar has an Aventurine Glaze with Cerium oxide, which give it a very interesting and peculiar surface. The gibbous moons have a Molybdenum glaze with Neodymium, which is a colorant that changes color depending on the type of light it is exposed to. The half-moons have a Zinc Crystal glaze with Praseodymium which give it a soft minty green color that is notoriously difficult to achieve with common metal oxide colorants. The crescent moons have a Zinc free glaze with Holmium which, like Neodymium, changes color depending on the type of light it is exposed to. The results gathered through these experiments have paved the way for many new research questions, not only for myself but for the entirety of the ceramics community If you would like to read about the glazes used here, check out my research on rare earth oxides.