It should also be noted that steam from the kiln load
affects the oxide layer leading to a reduced element life.
Good ventilation during the early stages of biscuit firing
is therefore essential.

Jorgen Foschmann
The Pottery Supply House
Oakville, Cnt.

NCTES ON STAINING A CRACKLE researched by Franc Holliger

The other day Franc Holliger dropped in to see me and found
me sOaking a pot in tea to bring out the crackle. Shortly
thereafter I received a whole sheaf of notes in the mail
that she had been kind enough to look up and type out for
me. 1 thought you might like to share them.

Carlton Ball comes up with the most varied group of suggest-
ions, from such commonplace things as dirt, shoe polish or
India ink, to using sulphuric acid. 1 like to keep things
simple and natural so would prefer even dirt to dipping my pot
in a solution of 1 part sulphuric acid to & parts water plus
some sugar for a minute or two, wiping it, putting it in the
oven at 300 degrees for half an hour. It seems the acid eats
out the crackle, the sugar goes in and the heat of the oven
turns the sugar to carbon giving you a nice black crackle.

lt does sound sort of nice, at that,

He also says that you can cet green, red, blue or any coloured
crackle by using oil paints thinned with solvent. I'm afraid
I'm inclined to agree with him that the effect might be novel
but not always sound artistically.

Or you can follow another suggestion of his - rub a strong,
dark pigment (he suggests chromium oxide or black underglaze)
into the cracks of a glaze that crazes, set it asice for a week
to develop more crazing, and then rub a lighter coloured oxide
(perhaps iron or copper oxide) into the new finer pattern of
crackle. Refire the pot and you get a strong pattern of dark
coloured oxide over a fine, delicate pattern of lighter colour-
ed crackle interlacing the large pattern. According to him, if

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