I don’t have “artistic temperament”–(whatever that means), I have always been scientifically minded. Which is why applying school chemistry and arithmetic to glaze making has always interested me.

Also earlier one could not buy readymade glaze or stains in India. So one was forced to make their own glazes. Books on glazes came gradually. Most potters were and are very secretive about their recipes. Even when one got books which had recipes, one had to know how to substitute materials that were not available. So a given recipe is only a good place to start from. Now any amount of recipes are available from books and internet, but they do not necessarily produce the same results.

My glaze book is always available to whoever wants it, but always with a warning that if you don’t get a glaze like you have seen on my pots, don’t think I gave you a wrong recipe on purpose.

I used to make very detailed arithmetic to adjust a glaze. Now I do it by rule of thumb, like adding salt to food! I very often eliminate very minute fractions in recipes that I find in books and try out samples which give unlikely glazes but pleasant enough.