Post #477944 by MadDogMike on Tue, Aug 18, 2009 5:21 PM

Duncan Designer Glaze (DG Series) problem -

I was working on this "test tile" for my Menu Art Swap project and the glaze kept flaking off when it dried. I wrote to Duncan and they told me they had some problems with those glazes and reformulated in Nov '08. If you have any Designer Glazes you bought a while ago you may want to consider replacing them. I had only asked about 2 colors - Khaki Canvas & Saffron Silk, here's what Duncan said about lot numbers:

"The DG207-4 Saffron Silk, lot #295597 produced 6/1/09 and DG208-4 Khaki Canvas, lot #293894 produced 3/9/09 and lot #296034 produced 6/19/09. If you go to a shop to purchase please shake the jars to be sure they are liquid enough to be thinned if necessary. Because of a raw material they will thicken after a while"

Looks like those 3 lot numbers were produced after the reformulation and should be OK.

Here's my finished mug and the inspiration

I used glazed highlights and shadows to TRY to give the effect of being lit from below like the picture. Because of the glaze problems, I ended firing this guy probably 8 times, but finally got him all covered in glaze. I had to ad lib the back, so I chose a Shaolin Monk style ponytail for the handle. The picture doesn't show too well, but I actually braided the clay. Use goldtone metal rings for the earrings (placed after firing), I guess this makes it a "mixed media" piece - somehow that sounds fancier to me :) About 4 inches tall & 5 inches wide, holds about 22 ounces.