Here is Proof that Thicker Paste forms Thicker Glaze

Make a ball of Egyptian paste then cut it into two equal halfs; take one of your halfs and divided it in half again. So now you have one half and two fourths made from your original ball of Egyptian paste. Taking one of your fourths and rolling it into a ball and joining the remaining fourth to the half yielding two balls of Egyptian paste, one being three times more volume than the other. Press these into a button form, dry and fire them to cone 04 (approximately 1000°C) and now you have what is pictured here.

The button on the left is one third the volume of that on the right. Both buttons started with the same surface details. However the larger one developed so much more glaze that it obscured /flooded the texture. Photographing on a dollar bill should give you perspective on both size, detail and color.

These two buttons were fired along side one another in the kiln; the reason that is mention is that placement in the kiln also effects the glaze. However, this is a subject for another post later on. The unfired Egyptian Paste or 'greenware', as potters call it, shows an even deep texture than the fired ware.

For now we have our first little fact for the behavior of Egyptian paste. Fact #1. The larger the volume of paste, the thicker the glaze. Well that is one fact down, 99 more to go!