Season 5

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Explore all Season 5 episodes of the For Flux Sake Podcast.

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Ep 121 – Do kilns really need peep holes?

Season 5

Have you ever wondered why kilns have peep holes? Today Matt, Rose, and Kathy debate the function and necessity of peep holes, while also tackling a question about glazing only the interior of a pot. They also start the episode talking about the research Kathy is doing at Harvard Ceramics into the historic use of graphite as a ceramic sealer.
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Ep 120 – Is there a difference between real and fake ash glazes?

Season 5

Happy New Year! To start 2026 the gang answer listener questions about ash glazes, mixing brushing and dipping glazes, and how the particle size of colorants affects glaze outcomes. They also begin the episode sharing stories about the highs and lows of art center holiday sales.
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Ep 119 – Gabriel Kline and Bill Collins on food safe glazes

Season 5

Have you wondered what makes a glaze food safe? Today we are happy to welcome Gabriel Kline and Bill Collins to the show to talk about the topic, and their new book Amazing Glaze: Food Safe Recipes. They discuss the definition of food safety, how to test glazes, and what they learned after testing dozens of popular cone 6 and cone 10 recipes.
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Ep 118 – Why is the last 200 degrees of the firing the most important?

Season 5

Do you fire your kiln fast or slow? And does it really matter? Today the gang answer a few listener questions about the relationship between temperature, glaze melt, and vitrification. They also discuss a class of clays out of the UK that vitrify at low fire temperatures.
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Ep 117 – Why is my casting slip hard-panning?

Season 5

Commercial casting slips are great for their convenience, but what do you do when your recipe hard-pans in the bucket? Today the gang talk about why hard-panning happens and how you can fix it. They also discuss making temp checks, the best bisque temp for commercial glazes, and the controversy around the sale of fake ceramic pigments.
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Ep 116 – HELP my clay is plucking!

Season 5

Have you ever had small pieces of an unglazed foot ring stick to a kiln shelf? This bummer of a phenomenon is called plucking, and today the gang talk about how and why it happens. They also answer a listener's question about increasing plasticity in halloysite porcelains and take a trip to Materials Corner to discuss the rumors swirling around EPK production.
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Ep 115 – Halloween Extravaganza with Lord Celsius, Wizard of Clays, and Copper Carb

Season 5

Halloween is our favorite holiday at For Flux Sake. We can’t get enough of the costumes, candy, and science! Join the gang this week as they answer listener questions about using wild clays in a community studio, washing dirty clay laundry, and the proper way to open a bag of dry ceramic material.
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Ep 114 – What are the do’s and dont’s of working in a community studio?

Season 5

Joining a new community studio can be exciting, but also a little scary. Today the gang talk about how to be a good community member. They also answer listener questions about clay color changes, using tar paper in the studio, and where to start when you get your first potter’s wheel.
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Ep 113 – How do you convert glazes to European materials?

Season 5

Have you ever moved and had to convert your glazes to materials from a different continent? Today the gang talk about how you might do that along with why ‘S’ type thermocouples are the best for accurate firings. They also answer listener questions about upcycling large amounts of casting slip and solutions for handles that keep popping off.
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Ep 112 – What’s the history behind Orton cones’ unusual numbering system?

Season 5

Today’s episode starts with a trip to Materials Corner where the gang talk about the likely end of a favorite Kaolin for soda firing. They also answer listener questions about the logic behind orton cone’s numbering system, the cause of scumming in clay, and the lowest temperature that it's ok to store clay.
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Ep 111 – Is the bacteria in reclaimed clay a problem?

Season 5

To start the show Kathy shares about the research being conducted into vanishing historic lusters at the Harvard Art Museum. The gang also answer listener questions about material supply chains, the cleanliness of reclaimed clay, and why Matt and Rose went solar.
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Ep 110 – What makes a glaze have a wide firing range?

Season 5

Have you ever wondered why some glazes have a huge firing range? Today the gang talk about this phenomenon, answer listener questions about adding stains to clay bodies, and discuss underglaze application. This episode also starts with a trip to Materials Corner along with a check in from a listener about the porosity of flower pots.
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