originally published 9/18/2011
A couple years ago I made a dinnerware set that was supposed to be a creamy white. I chose a beautiful shino that, when thick, was a rich creamy color. When I opened the kiln this is what it revealed:

The entire set was anything but creamy white- a variety of black spots, smokey blushes, crystals that excited me with the possibilities for glazing. When I tried to reproduce these results, I didn't succeed, but often got delightful glaze effects.


For many years since that first dinnerware, I’ve used shino glazes and experimented with different glazing and firing methods. When a result delights me, and turns out right, I try to do it the next time and often get very different results. Reproducing results was rarely consistent. Some of the tests: Using fresh glaze- washing the pots with soda ash water - drying fast, -drying slow, - introducing reduction at different temperatures,- very heavy reduction, -firing whole kiln loads of shino,- increasing the soda ash in the glaze. Sometimes these things worked, sometimes not. It makes the process of glazing and firing exhilarating.

Here's some shino without carbon trapping (though there is lovely carbon on the plate rim):

Can one ever tire of Shino?