Have you ever wondered why cone temperatures are random?

We're back. 

Glaze Calculation Online from Alfred University.

Have you ever wondered why cone temperatures are seemingly random? Have you been frustrated by a glaze that you can’t get to stop crazing. Have you had enough of your clay body slumping?  What is the deal with Cone 6 anyway? Have you ever wanted to learn about how glazes work? Do you wonder what goes on in our clay bodies when we fire them? Do you need a refresher in ceramic materials, or just want to learn some cool things about clays and glazes?

 The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University has a new opportunity for all ceramicists out there. This December and January we will offer our Glaze Calculation and Raw Materials course online. The course will be offered during our Allen Term, which runs the course of our winter break, December 15^th to January 16^th. The class is open to everyone around the world who wants to learn about ceramic materials.  It is a perfect opportunity if you attended a school that does not offer a materials course, or if you missed the window to take it at your school.  The course will be offered for credit for students currently enrolled at other schools. It is also open to the general public, if you are a lifelong learner. Maybe you are someone just getting started in ceramics and want to know more about what is going on when you fire a glaze. It is also perfect for the professional who wants to develop the glaze they see in their mind, but just can’t seem to get on their work.

We will explore everything you need to know about ceramic materials.  The nature of glazes and clays, the background on raw materials, ceramic chemistry, how colors work, oxidation and reduction, firing temperatures and schedules, glaze and clay flaws and failure, special effect glazes, maximizing clay bodies, food safety, the unity molecular formula. Everything that you need to know to make your studio the best it can be.

The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University is an internationally renowned school for the study of ceramics. We have a long history of educators dedicated not just to ceramic art, but the holistic study of Ceramics. Pioneers such as Daniel Rhodes, Val Cushing and John Gill have strived to make ceramics a dynamic and exciting art form for over 100 years. Alfred also has one of the world’s best ceramic engineering programs. Professors like Dr. Bill Carty, pioneers in the study of ceramic science from the artist’s perspective.

Glaze Calculation Online will be taught by Matt Katz, Alfred’s professor specializing in ceramic materials. Matt has been teaching Ceramic Materials at Alfred for over 12 years. Originally studying in the school of art and design, Matt went on to study with Dr. Carty for many years. Matt has a special perspective of materials from both the artist and engineer’s point of view.  Matt’s experience has allowed him to design a new version of glaze calculation that includes the intrinsic knowledge of the artists with the wisdom of the ceramic scientist.

We hope that you will join us online this winter; it will be a course you will always appreciate as you continue to strive to make your studio experience better. 

Course listing:
Topics: Introduction to Glaze Formulation Online - ART 300 01

For more information regarding enrolment please contact the university at 607-871-2123

Or visit http://www.alfred.edu/academics/allen-term/

If you have questions you can email Matt Katz: katz@alfred.edu

Happy Trails

We are writing from Matt and Dave’s Clays with news of the future.  Sadly, that news is that this is the end of the line. Matt’s family has a new opportunity that they have decided to follow and we can’t continue without him. So we are going to be closing our doors.

We have loved our time helping everyone make great things and we have loved seeing the things that you have made. We will miss you all. We will be accepting orders until Wednesday the 26^th of March. If you would like to stock up, please place all order by then. Also, our formulas will be for sale for artists and manufacturers if you are interested in purchasing them email matt@mattanddavesclays.com.

In the future, we will be available for consulting for ceramicists large and small. If you have ceramics problems, questions or require research, please feel free to contact us.

We hope you all the best and can’t wait to see what everyone makes in the future.

Best,

Matt and Dave  

New Coup!

The new Coup is here! The new Coup is here!

We have taken all that was great about The Coup and made it better, and by better, I mean cheaper! Now only $13.50 per box. 

But that's not all. We've made the clay itself even better. If you used the clay before, it works exactly the same, our testers have universally loved it.

It now has a even better thermal expansion, to assist you with glaze fit. It now has a CTE of 5.6, perfect for a porcelain,

Other Facts.
Density 2.38
Absorption 0.2
Wet to Fired Shrinkage- 13.16%
Wet to Dried Shrinkage-4.5%

Come on over to www.mattanddavesclays.com and get some New Coup.

Snow White is now available!Come to www.mattanddavesclays.com and get it.This is the whitest, most translucent clay that we could make.Available in a clay body, casting slip and building slip that all match perfectly and filter pressed to perfection. Check it out and get all the technical specs at www.mattanddavesclays.com

Snow White

White
Translucent
The pure white porcelain your dreams are made of

Meet your Prince Charming very soon.


Matt and Dave's Clays

Upward and Onward!

New clays are coming...
Cheaper clays. 
Seriously cheaper clays. 
With the same great quality that you love. 

Watch here.

Royal Flush

Via Reddit

_______________________________________________________________________________
Slipcast is brought to you by Matt and Dave's Clays

Clays designed by Scientists to work for Artists!

Porcelain for the People!

Are you going to go my way?

We all know that we live in a world of celebrity endorsements. In fact coming soon, Matt and Dave's Clays new spokes person will be Jim Nabors.

And we know that all celebrities love to have their name on products, just see the latest perfume by, well everyone. Here we have a development that I never saw coming.

Rock star (is he even that anymore) Lenny Kravitz has attached his celebrity to a new line of... wait for it.... decorative wall tiles. I know, just what your life was missing. Made by LEA Ceramiche these new tiles are inspired by... what ever... the only question is are they nice to look at and would you like them in your home.

Now let me be clear, I don't have anything against the tiles, they are interesting and I'm sure were designed by a designer with a long life of study and work. But the application of a celebrity to slap their name on it and to market as their own is silly.

So get out there people and make a name for yourselves. Don't let Lenny Kravitz take all the credit.

Link

_______________________________________________________________________________
Slipcast is brought to you by Matt and Dave's Clays

Clays designed by Scientists to work for Artists!

Porcelain for the People!

He Blinded Me With Science!

Hi everyone,
I return with data!

You can now head over to Matt and Dave's Clays website  and soak in our all new Science section.
We've updated the page with a bunch of new information for your ceramical perusing.
We've added the Powerpoint slides from NCECA 2012- Seattle- On The Edge.

These include my talk on how Cone 6 glazes work and how they don't work. I've done a lot of research on the strength of Mid-Temperature glaze and how well the stand up to daily abuse. There is some really interesting information that you should apply to your own glazes if you are working at anything under Cone 10.

Dave did a talk on "How Glazes Melt". A really interesting study on what is going on inside our glazes in the kiln. Looking at the way eutectics are formed and how glazes interact with the clay body.

Finally, Bill Carty did a talk about the forensic examination of Korean porcelains. He examined the make up of 12th centuary Korean pottery to find out, how it was made and how that effects our pots today.

All very cool research and we had a great time doing it.

But that's not all!

I've also included my FREE Glaze Calculator! This is an Excel spreadsheet that I use everyday. It is a basic spreadsheet that will allow you to calculate the Unity Molecular Formula for any glaze out there.  It does not have all the bells and whistles of some of the sheets out there... but did I mention it is FREE?

We've also added a copy of the famous Stull Glaze map, which documents the melting of glazes. Also my new companion map on the UMF limits of Boron. You can see this map at the top of this post, I am super proud of it and I think it will change the way we all deal with glaze chemistry and temperature. As the sheet documents exactly how much Boron your glaze needs at any temperature From Cone 10 to below Cone 04. Super Cool!

So get on over to Matt and Dave's Clays and soak in the Science!
 

NCECA 2012 data is on its way!

Hey All,
Thanks for a fantastic NCECA 2012. We had a great time and a lot of fun at our presentations.
As I said on stage, we are going to post our presentations over at www.mattanddavesclays.com. It is going to take a few days, we need to do some editing of the presentations and add a new page to the website. keep checking in and it should be up later this week.

NCECA 2012- Be there!

Hey All,

I want to invite everyone to come to our talk next week at NCECA in Seattle.

Myself (Matt Katz), Dave (Finkelnburg) and Bill Carty are presenting our Lecture/Panel "So You Want To Talk About Glaze Chemistry?" On Thursday the 29th at Noon in Ballroom 6A.

It is going to be a great talk, Dave is going to speak on "How Glazes Melt". Talking about the ins and out of how materials do their thing in the kiln.

I have a talk about Mid-Temperature glazes. I have done some research that I am really proud of. I take a look at how Mid-temperature glazes work. Exploring how we get glazes that perform well at Mid-Temperature. Also examining some of the unknown pitfalls in durability and safety in Mid-temperature glazes that is right before our eyes and we don't even know about it!

Finally, Bill Carty is going to present his fantastic research on "Forensic Ceramics". Where in he was able to discover the methods and techniques of 12th Century Korean ceramics, using modern ceramic science. And how those techniques effect us today.

All of this will be capped of by a Q&A lead by our friend Tina Gebhart.

So please come on by and see our talk! And if you see us wandering around, please feel free to stop us and says hi or ask us any questions you may have.

See you in Seattle!

_________________________________________________________________________________
Slipcast is brought to you by Matt and Dave's Clays

Clays designed by Scientists to work for Artists!

Porcelain for the People!

Out of your Gourd

Hey, Sports fans!

I  hope everyone is doing exceptionally well. Spring has sprung here in Alfred. Mrs. Rose's Crocuses are blooming and our neighbor's bee hives are buzzing.

Today's find is a not A ceramical one, but is one that those slip-casters can take part in.
Instructables has a profile on how to shape a gourd into the shape of your choosing. With just the application of a plaster mold your Fall gourds can be the most decorative in town!

Via

_________________________________________________________________________________
Slipcast is brought to you by Matt and Dave's Clays

Clays designed by Scientists to work for Artists!

Porcelain for the People!

Smash!

Today brings us something super cool. These photographs by German photographer Martin Klimas are amazing little things. He has his camera set up to shoot on the sound cue of the pieces smashing. Creating tableau of battle.

I am amazed that we haven't seen this as an effect in a movie yet.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Slipcast is brought to you by Matt and Dave's Clays

Clays designed by Scientists to work for Artists!

Porcelain for the People!

Kansas City here we come!

Hey everyone!

We are proud to announce that our clays are now available to the
greater Kansas City area though Crane Yard Clays! http://kcclay.com/

On top of that Dave and I will be at Crane Yard Saturday, February 4th
from 12 to 6 for thier big introductory shindig! If you are in the KC
area we hope to see you there!

Also if you want to get some of our fanstastic clay, they have a 200
mile distribution area. I'm sure they would be happy to bring you some
to your studio or school!

See you all there!

-Matt