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Imagine a ceramicist mixing glaze according to a thousand-year-old recipe, firing up the kiln, and then simply hoping. Hoping that this time they'll achieve the right red. Or blue-green like jade. Maybe they'll be lucky, maybe not. And perhaps only two out of twenty samples will succeed. These are exactly the situations that two doctoral students from the Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at the University of West Bohemia in Pilzen want to change. Markéta Kalivodová and Petr Stehlík have embarked on the seemingly impossible: scientifically describing processes that for centuries have worked only based on experience and intuition.

Markéta Kalivodová from the NALEJTO design studio has tackled celadon glaze – the legendary blue that resembles jade and which the Chinese perfected during the Song dynasty. "The blue color of celadon isn't determined by pigment, but results from controlled oxygen deficiency in the kiln. It's essentially a dance between iron, flame, and time," she explained.

"And indeed – it's a chemical dance," she continued. In a reducing atmosphere, ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) transforms into ferrous oxide (FeO) according to the equation Fe₂O₃ + CO → 2FeO + CO₂. The resulting color depends on the ratio of both forms of iron. More Fe²⁺ = color shifts toward blue. More Fe³⁺ = more greenish.

Kalivodová not only studies these processes using modern analytical methods but also experiments with 3D printing of ceramic forms. The goal? To understand mechanisms that will allow contemporary artists to use thousand-year-old traditions with reliable results.

Doctoral student Petr Stehlík from Stehlik Design studio has tackled red glazes based on copper oxide, known as "sang de boeuf" – bull's blood. The problem here is similar: "Current practice is such that ceramicists achieve certain colors according to their experience in a specific kiln, but the method isn't precisely described," he said.

Stehlík wants to create an exact description of the entire process including recording thermal history. To do this, however, he must construct his own kiln with measuring apparatus. He's also researching how to simulate ideal reduction firing conditions in a standard electric kiln using a muffle – a ceramic cover.

"Why is this important? Because even the most experienced ceramicists succeed with only a fraction of their attempts. And every failed attempt means unnecessary waste," the doctoral student noted. This is where ecology comes into play. Experimental procedures in glaze production have a high failure rate. Material, firing energy, and time are wasted unnecessarily.

"More precise methodological procedures can significantly reduce this loss – instead of ten failed attempts, one or two successful ones will suffice," Stehlík shared, who applies his ecological approach in another project as well. He's developing thermal and acoustic insulation from biochar made from Japanese poplar wood. This insulation is formed from carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere during tree growth, and permanently stores it in biochar form.

Both projects are being developed within the doctoral program Interdisciplinary Research Through Visual Arts – a three-year study that connects artistic practice with scientific methodology. The Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at UWB offers the doctoral program Interdisciplinary Research Through Visual Arts in a three-year full-time format. Applications can be submitted until June 6 at 12:00 PM.