I started this pot as a tall white stoneware vessel and used a nickel-rich crystalline glaze. After a controlled kiln cooling cycle, teal fan-shaped crystals formed over a warm gold background. The next step was an acid bath.
So I tried it.
What changed after five days
I left the pot in an acid bath for five days, with the upper section above the liquid. The difference was easy to see:
- Below the bath line: the teal crystals turned silver.
- Above the bath line: the crystals stayed teal.
There weren't any silver crystals before the bath. They appeared only on the submerged section, with a softer transition where the liquid reached higher on the form.
Two results on one pot
The piece shows both parts of the process. The kiln created the teal crystals, then the five-day acid bath changed the area it touched. The surface shifts from a silver base to a teal upper section.
The post-firing bath gave the crystalline-glazed pot a noticeably different surface while preserving the original teal above the bath line.