Ceramics Glazing Basics

These homemade pottery glaze recipes will help you if you ve been thinking about trying to make your own glaze.

Ceramics glazing basics.

All glazes and clays have different properties. Ceramic glaze chemistry is a very complex subject so complex it has its own section on ceramic arts daily see glaze chemistry. Here we talk about ceramic glazing techniques as opposed to in depth discussion on glaze chemistry. And glazing is fun too arguably the most exciting procedure in ceramic making.

Closed captioned ceramic teacher christa schmeder from corvallis high school corvallis oregon shows the basics of glazing ceramics. Jennifer poellot harnetty editor. What are the basics of glazing. Denver colorado ceramic artist annie chrietzberg is the polar opposite of me in the glaze room.

I actually enjoy and look forward to glazing. Before any glaze hits your pottery there are a few things you need to consider and the prep work that s involved. If you re interested in spraying glaze on pottery we have you covered. Students will understand how to use ceramic tools properly.

Dipping your glazes or brushing them on. Students will understand what glazing is and how to use glazes appropriately students will understand the process kiln firing students will understand the basic elements and principles of design in creating a 3 d object texture shape form contrast variety texture etc. Pottery glaze is made up of five basic components. Just remember these are chemicals so do be careful with them and make sure that you learn what chemicals work with what so you re not subjecting yourself to certain toxins.

Glazing can make or break a pot so it s great to spend a bit of time planning the exact look feel and color of what you want to achieve. These components are silica alumina flux colorants and modifiers. I know my glazing outcomes could be greatly improved if i followed just a couple of annie s pottery glazing tips. But creating fired pottery pieces is not all hocus pocus.

Once a glaze is applied and the piece is fired causing a chemical reaction and often a transformation in color the outcome is magical. Hopefully you will benefit from annie s advice too. There are two main ways you can glaze. Even though all glazes are made up of the same components there is a vast range of colors and types to choose from.

The common ingredients that are in glaze colors are copper oxide copper carbonate cobalt oxide and iron oxide. I m going to share 27 easy to remember glazing tips for beginners and some forgetful seasoned veterans that will help you stop the glaze confusion and master the art of glazing.