Testing Shino Glazes on Different Clay Bodies

The above picture to the left is a recent Chawan on which I had tested out a high feldspathic Shino glaze. Similar to traditional Shino ware, the glaze turned milky gray when applied thickly over a red iron wash. To encourage this variation in color, I loosely dribbled more glaze over the entire surface of the pot  after an initial glaze application. Another way is to simply "blow" on the glaze to create areas of subtle thickness.

The second grouping of pictures is an earlier attempt at using this same process, albeit with a different clay body which also incorporated some organic material. When this material burned out during the bisque, a nice pockmarked surface was left behind, which, after glazing and firing, makes the tea bowl soft and friendly to hold and even more reminiscent of traditional Shino ware.

As most potters know, there's no counting on any Shino recipe to give you consistent result. Besides the glazing technique, much depends on the clay body, glaze thickness, placement in kiln, and, of course, when and how much you reduce during the firing.
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But that's why we love the glaze so much. Yes, it is challenging, but it certainly offers great rewards to those who have the patience to experiment and try to zero in on those qualities which they find so appealing.