Hey there! Today, we’re going to dive into something really cool in the world of pottery—it’s called barium glaze testing!
Glaze is that shiny coating you see on pottery that makes it look pretty and protects it too. In our special case, we’re focusing on a barium glaze, which is made using a chemical called barium. This glaze is used because it helps make the colors vibrant and the finished piece strong.
Now, to test out this glaze, we use something called a cone number. You might have heard of them in your art class! A Cone 7 helps us know how hot the oven (or kiln) needs to be. For (Cone 7), we heat our kiln to about Cone 7 which is around 2,300°F (that’s really, really hot!).
In pottery, when we say “testing” a glaze, we are checking how it looks and how it feels once it’s finished. We want to make sure our barium glaze works perfectly, so we fire some test pieces in the kiln, and once they’re done cooking, we can see if the colors came out nice and if the glaze created a sturdy surface.
So, now let’s look at some examples of objects that have the same measurements as our testing system—those that represent barium glaze testing at Cone 7, which is approximately 2,300°F. Here are 7 objects with those exact features:
- A shiny ceramic bowl with a barium glaze.
- A bright coffee mug finished with barium glaze.
- A decorative plate that has been kilned to Cone 7.
- A sleek vase made with barium glaze.
- A colorful tile used for flooring that was fired at Cone 7.
- An artistic sculpture coated in barium glaze.
- A unique teapot with a vibrant design from barium glaze firing.
And there you have it! That’s how we test barium glazes at Cone 7! Don’t you think it’s fascinating how we can make art that lasts through science and creativity?
