[Clayart] I want gray

[Paul Lewing]

On Aug 24, 2022, at 12:43 AM, mel jacobson <melpots at mail.com> wrote:

Ok, all you smarty pants potters out there.
Give the recipe for a middle gray, using,
for me 5x20.

cone 7, light reduction, or electric fired cone 6.
iron bearing clay.

I used to get a lovely grey at cone 10 in reduction using Rhodes Magnesia Base and iron chromate.  It was slightly greenish.

The problem with grays is that they tend to have a slight color shift one way or another, toward green, or blue, or brown, or yellow.  This is the result you usually get by using a small percentage of a black stain.  Different black stains, while they may all produce black at full strength, produce grays of different tones at less than that.  I use Mason Cr-free black stain to get a lovely blue grey in midrange oxidation.

The best colorant I’ve found for a really neutral grey in midrange oxidation is a stain called C790.  I’m not sure who makes it.
In a glaze as clear as 5x20, on an iron-bearing clay, you might have to use a bit more stain and some opacifier to get a clean grey.


Paul Lewing
www.paullewingtile.com  <http://www.paullewingtile.com/>
www.paullewingart.com <http://www.paullewingart.com/>
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