Food-Safe Glazes | Gabriel Kline & Bill Collins | Episode 1175

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Gabriel Kline & Bill Collins | Episode 1175

Gabriel Kline is the director of Odyssey ClayWorks in Asheville, NC. In addition to making large scale pots, Gabriel works with Veterans, recovery groups, and at-risk youth. He is also a founding member of the Loud Jackey Society (L.J.S.) at NCECA.

Bill Collins, PhD, is a professor of chemistry at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. He joined the college in 2011. With a background in synthetic organic and materials chemistry, his research focuses on developing and analyzing chemically durable glasses for ceramic applications, bringing a rigorous scientific approach to the testing and formulation of food-safe glazes. He is a co-author of Amazing Glaze Food-Safe Recipes. Before joining Fort Lewis, Dr. Collins was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT, studying graphene and carbon nanotube chemistry. He lives in Durango, Colorado.

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Gabriel, how do you define food-safe glaze? And how has that changed for yiu since you started writing this book?

Gabriel:  I would define it as a non-crazed, non-shivering, glossy surface, that is easily cleanable, that does not leach out heavy metals in the presence of an acid. I would add that the clay is also a factor in that of the clay is not sufficiently vitrified water can migrate up into it and there could be the presence of bacteria.

Bill, is it a big deal to have a few minor cracks in the bottom of a pot?

I guess I’ll say this. Crying really comes down to your own comfort level with microbes. The Bailey of bacteria and other potential pathogens to get in through these cracks and to potentially proliferate in a glaze is higher when you don’t have a structure that’s continuous.

Gabriel, should there be a different standard for a plate as opposed to a cup?

I don’t believe so. One of the differences that you might find in terms of the foot of a plate and the foot of a cup. I would recommend carving out a foot ring and glazing that area. So there is a minimal amount of exposed clay body. I think that will give you the longest life and creates the most durable objects.

Bill, how did you do the actual testing of glazes?

So we have instruments that allow us to detect metals at really, really small concentrations. We talk in depth about how we do the testing in the book and we talk about the instruments.

Gabriel, would you or have you changed your practices since writing this specific book?

The aforementioned green glaze I now mix with one percent less copper. Adhering to the standard that is strictest in the world. That we created.

What is your favorite glaze?

Bill: of all the glazes that I make in the lab constantly, with lots of beautiful colors. I like clear glazes.

Gabriel: I love colored glazes. We tried to do a ROY G BIV, plus white, black, grey, and brown in a number of different degrees of gloss to try to have something for everybody. That being said, there’s a cone ten glaze that is called _____purple and I love this glaze in that it’s variegated unto itself. It’s sort of three different colors of purple that’s speckled and it plays so well with others. I’m excited to use it.

Book

Amazing Glazes by Gabriel Kline & Bill Collins PhD

Contact

odysseyclayworks.com

Instagram: @odysseyclayworks  & @wrcollin