[Ansteorra] a question for any potters... a new one...

[Jennifer Jackson]

My understanding is that the lead which has been such a problem in some old 
pottery is in the glaze.  Lead free glazes are now available, but not all 
glazes are.  The lead apparently sets the colors very well.  Glaze, like 
many art supplies, is not meant to be ingested when being used for 
decorative items.

As to the murder of the husband, I will have to add that one to my 
prospective list. :)  Though I have been told that even with leaded glaze, a 
person would have to drink orange juice, or some  other acidic drink,  from 
the same piece every day for a while to do any damage.


Genevria
original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Silverhands" <silverhands at sbcglobal.net>
To: <ladydeirdre at sbcglobal.net>; "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." 
<ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 12:17 AM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] a question for any potters... a new one...


>
> On Oct 27, 2006, at 12:03 AM, Deirdre wrote:
>
>> I find myself unable to resist asking a completely ignorant question -
>> There's really no way to ask without it sounding totally ignorant,
>> either,
>> so here goes...
>>
>> Why can't we take the lead out of the clay or ceramic or whatever?
>> People
>> MAKE this stuff, right?  So make it unleaded.... I mean, does ALL
>> clay have
>> lead in it? Is there no way to remove it?
>>
>> Wow - I think my lightbulb just dimmed - I don't think it will
>> recover from
>> this one.
>>
>> Deirdre, whose hubby just told her a story about a woman who was
>> convicted
>> of murdering her husband by making him a mug, and leaving a small spot
>> inside unglazed - he died of lead poisoning. Wonder how many years
>> that
>> took...
>
> M'lady Deirdre, I'd never thought about that. Great question!
>
> A quick search of Google for "lead-free clay" provides several hits.
> It appears that there is such a thing, and some makers of stoneware
> and cookware use it in their products.
>
> For example:
> <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3676/is_200401/ai_n9389826>
> "A local riverbank provides the lead-free clay, which is perfect for
> use as dinnerware and is microwave-, oven-, and dishwasher-safe."
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Michael Silverhands
>
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