![\"A](\"https:\/\/kayhelena.work\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_20250731_150343694_HDR.jpg\")
<\/a>The more I learned…<\/h2>\n\n
…the less I knew.<\/p>\n\n
I slowly realized that this alone wasn’t enough.<\/p>\n\n
When I add more oxides to the clay, I also change properties like shrinkage, porosity or vitrification, thermal expansion coefficient, glaze adhesion, color bleeding, food safety…<\/p>\n\n
I had to do a lot of reading and research. I mainly relied on Digitalfire<\/a> and Glazy<\/a>. Plus some individual insights from YouTube and a few basics from Wolff Matthes’ “Keramische Glasuren”. <\/p>\n\n And I’m hardly any wiser now. The only solution is to experiment! <\/p>\n\n It helps to know what you want. I’d like the option to use the shard for food even without glaze. At least for dry foods. A dream would be usability with coffee, tea, juice, and so on\u2014meaning hot and\/or acidic foods. And because I like organic surfaces, I want a warm, earthy surface with small irregularities. These could be light or dark spots. Or entire areas that differ slightly. <\/p>\n\n This already leads to several requirements:<\/p>\n\n …In short: I want the impossible.<\/p>\n\n I really enjoy using Witgert 11, a stoneware clay that fires to a white or off-white color. Based on this, I’ve developed four recipes: two warm browns and two cold browns\u2014each in a version with grog and one without. <\/p>\n\n Because I only have a \u00be eighth-half knowledge of the subject, I spent a lot of time immersed in the sources mentioned above. And I consulted AI\u2014which feels like playing pin the tail on the donkey in a minefield. <\/p>\n\n The recipes I eventually settled on were weighed out dry and soaked in plenty of water for a week. The portion of the base Witgert “11” clay came from scraps that I always save for things like slip. <\/p>\n\n After that week, I mixed everything thoroughly (using a paint mixer and a cordless drill). Once everything had settled, I removed the excess water and let it thicken in the air. <\/p>\n\n I first mixed a single sample of each recipe, dried it on a plaster bat, wedged it thoroughly, and made a test piece.<\/p>\n\n The test piece can tell me about shrinkage after the final firing, I can see the color and texture, and test water absorption.<\/p>\n\n After the oxidizing firing at 1240\u00b0C, the samples look completely different.<\/p>\n\n At the very top, I added a shard of unmodified Witgert 11 as a reference. Please imagine the next two swapped\u2014you can tell by the position of the stamps. <\/p>\n\nWhat do I actually want?<\/h2>\n\n
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Try and Try Again<\/h2>\n\n
<\/a>After Firing<\/h2>\n\n