Then this is THE book on Crystalline Glazes. You cannot afford not to be aware of the research of Fara Shimbo. This is a woman possessed with crystal glazes, a real worker, a prolific tester and writer. She knows so many things about ceramic materials, recipes, clay bodies and porcelains, firing, shape of ware, application of glaze, safety, finishing, etc.

Fara has made every mistake and documented every success. Page after page of beautiful color sample tile grids and exactly what you need to do to create your own. This potter does not just grow crystals, she 'farms' them, dissects and studies them, shapes and fringes them, seeds and mixes them, colors them, co-ordinates them with the background, she even names them. We have here a woman in love with crystalline glazes, one who has developed a 'language of crystals'. Her enthusiasm is so contagious that the readers will also entertain leaving regular pottery for the lure of crystals. The idea of concentrating on form and letting the glaze do the decorating is very compelling.

This author has done a marvelous job of addressing crystalline ceramics from so many technical viewpoints while keeping it understandable to anyone. She invites readers to travel on the road of wonder and discovery with her, fully admitting all that she has not yet figured out and inviting readers to contact her if they can help. While there is plenty of glorious crystal 'eye candy' it is not just pictures, it is about a methodical approach to understanding crystalline glazes, it is about practical advice. Growing crystals is about firing, and nobody understands this better. Arguably the most beautiful crystals are reduction fired and firing a gas kiln to create crystallines effectively is tricky business indeed; Fara Shimbo is the right person to explain how.

We have been running a feedback poll on our website for the past two years to prepare workshop content and crystal glazes is the number one requested topic. Ten years ago very few people were thinking about crystalline glazes, now almost everyone is, principally because of the advent of electronic kiln controllers. Even technicians in large manufacturing companies from around the world have shown great interest. We are on the verge on an explosion in interest in crystalline glaze and this comes at just the right time.

A landmark in ceramic publishing.

• The author is available, her email and website are inside and you can contact her anytime
• It is available as an eBook by both download and on CD, thus it is available anywhere in the world
• Every one is individually serial numbered and that serial number gives owners the ability to download the electronic edition for free
• It is treated like a software product, it is versioned and owners can upgrade electronically for free
• It is about creating a community to understand crystallization better. Fara is an accomplished webmaster and her website is dedicated to fostering discovery about crystalline glazes.
• A site license is available for educational institutions
• Fara made it herself and gets 50% of the profit on every sale

What is new in version 2?

Although a few pages smaller, this edition is packed with more practical information and is a must-have for Edition 1 owners. Many ideas in the first one are corrected and enlarged (especially regarding firing at cone 6 electric oxidation). Much of the reference type information that took space in the first edition has been moved to her website to make room for the more comprehensive treatment of subjects. There are fewer recipes but much better understanding of the remaining ones.

We have a new woman in this time, still pretty wild but wiser and well seasoned by workshop experience. Fara is no longer setting fire to the garage and has new and better reduction methods and equipment. The cats are still there. She has become a skilled web-BBS master and now there is a great symbiosis between the book her web site. She was a slow adopter of electronic kiln controllers but has now embraced these in a way that only a crystallier can. Since the last book she has marshaled the help of many well known ceramic technicians and displays the work of many accomplished artists in this area. She has discovered rare earth oxides and has a better camera and a better microscope. The pictures in this edition are great, especially all the hundreds of sample tiles showing variations in formulation.

We did not touch the book, the author composed and laid out on her own. Few authors put in so much technical commitment to both subject and publishing. Few that I have ever seen share their knowledge so unselfishly and make themselves as accessible on the internet.