A lovely Developing Glazes book review

Always delighted to see my book reviewed! This review was written by Tim Thornton in the UK.

“Developing Glazes – Low Fire Oxidation and Reduction by Mary Fox

Mary Fox produces a mix of functional and decorative work with lovely rich, complex glazes, fired at 1000 – 1060 C / Cone 06-04. In this, her second book, she tells you how it’s done. With so many potters (and so pottery books) going down the mid-fire route, because that’s what the marketing by the main glaze and clay suppliers tell you to do, it’s always good to have someone helping show the full width of the ceramic spectrum.

Her glazes are made by layering on the surface of the pot with a variety of materials – terra sigillata (both plain and coloured), borax, washes, applying glazes as a powder as well as conventional glazes, saggar firing and getting raku-like effects in a normal kiln, and refiring pots. Firings are both in oxidation and in reduction. Each has a chapter exploring the technique, suggesting recipes and techniques, and showing how it can be combined with other techniques. She also diverts into talking about her garden, and also the foundation that she has set up to help get early career potters up and running, both now and as a legacy after her death (with proceeds from this book going to the foundation). All of this is well illustrated, with photos showing how the finishes develop through their various stages. The approach is very much experimental and practical, as befits the techniques – there’s no mention of Stull or UMF here.

The book is a joy to read – I felt as though I was in her studio, with her chatting away and showing me things as she worked. And also meandering down the occasional interesting diversion.

Highly recommended – even if you fire at a higher temperature, many of the techniques are directly transferable, though you may need to change some materials for others with a higher melting point.”

Thanks Tim!