Glaze Testing

Testing glazes is an ongoing process. Tiles are made, labelled and glazed in various ways. In the sample above, the denim blue glaze was dipped first, then the bronze was brushed over top.

Prior to this I test on much smaller tiles, about one inch high, just to see if I've got something I can work with.

One of the key factors with glazing is whether the glaze fits the clay.

Its something like a shirt fitting a body.When heated in the kiln the glaze and clay both expand then shrink. If they shrink at different rates, the glaze will craze and ping. If the shirt is too tight for the body, the buttons will pop. The same goes for clay and glazes.

Glazing

Glazing can make or break a piece of pottery. Its the time when the potter must call on all creative inspiration to transform the blank canvas. Glaze is essentially a form of glass that is calibrated to stick to the surface of a clay vessel. Therefore, it is important to properly prepare the vessel.

The pot is wiped clean of any dust, then dipped into a large vat of glaze, and held a moment while the glaze coats the surface. This bowl has already had some decorative work done on the inside, so it is only dipped to the rim.

Quickly the bowl is pulled out and any loose streams are shaken off, or shaken into the surrounding surface, in order to keep it smooth.

Another option is to paint with the glaze. Here I am adding a different colour to the edges of a plate to create a more complex effect.

As mentioned, wax can be used to resist glaze. In this picture I've painted a stripe of white glaze onto a tray, and now I'll add wax on top of the stripe. When I dip it in black, the wax will resist the black leaving a nice white line down the centre.

These are just some of the ways glaze is used. One of the most exciting aspects to pottery is that a simple bowl can turn out so many different ways in the hands of different potters.