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Salt glaze was first discovered by German potters in the late 14th and
early 15th century. Due to the high firing temperatures, stoneware
clays are required. The pieces can be handled, decorated with clay
slips of many different colors, or glazed partially with Cobalt Blue.
The pots are then loaded in the back chamber of the wood kiln or in a
separate salt kiln fired with gas. They are heated like other firings
up to the peak tempature and then soaked for an hour. At that time
ordinary kitchen salt, like you use at the dinner table, is introduced
through special ports in the kiln with a long piece of angle iron. We
put approximately 25-100 pounds of salt in the kiln. The salt will
liquefy and eventually turn into a sodium vapor. The vapor will unite
with the silica in the clay pots and accumulate on the surface. This
surface may resemble the texture of an orange peel. This was an early
glaze used by settlers during the 19th century in the Seagrove area.
Many of the pieces we make in salt glaze are functional, even the more
decorative large scale pots.
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