Laura
If you haven’t already heard, we here at Deneen Pottery are launching our latest glaze color – Apricot! This glaze had an interesting origin story so it got us thinking that we should share how our glazes are created and what makes glaze mixing especially fascinating. A special thanks goes out to Doug, our trusty glaze technician, for helping explain the wild world of glazes.
“Our newest color, Apricot, came about through a test gone wrong.”
Ceramic glaze is an impervious layer or coating that has been fused to the clay body of the mug through firing. A glaze is made up of three parts. A flux/melter that lowers the melting point, a refractory/stabilizer that bonds the glaze to the clay, and a glass former like silica. This creates the base and then a stain is added to give the glaze its color. It’s a bit like mixing paint and a bit more like a chemistry experiment.
Due to all of the natural elements that go into our glaze, it can be a challenge to create a new glaze, and even to recreate glazes that have long been in working condition. A change in where materials are sourced and mined from, different placements in the kiln while firing, different elements in the clay of the mug, among many other things can cause varying results in glaze colors. It’s a finicky business creating art with ingredients that are dynamic and alive in their own way.
“It takes several months before a new color is approved for mass production.”
“Our newest color, Apricot, came about through a test gone wrong,” says our glaze tech, Doug. He was doing a small test batch for another color and mis-measured the stain amounts, but it ended up coming out looking really beautiful. After that initial test, he then went on to put it through our testing process.
The testing process is quite rigorous as there is a lot to take into consideration when creating a glaze. As Doug said, “To test new colors we start with small batches […] These are fired on test tiles or mugs to check for coverage and color as well as surface melt. If it passes the initial stage we then ramp it up to bigger batches and along the way we test it on our test mugs, then production mugs. We test it as a solid and with marbles. We test how well it looks on the medallions when scrubbed. We check how it will handle touch ups and being re-fired.” With all that, from start to finish, it takes several months before a new color is approved for mass production.
So as you can see, the glaze making process can be a long and unpredictable journey. The glazes and the materials that create them are ever changing. “Working with natural materials, you can never be quite sure what will happen next,” Doug stated as one of his favorite parts about doing what he does. And that goes to the core of what makes Deneen Pottery mugs so special. Creating mugs with our hands from natural materials makes each mug unique, a perfect way to make an individual and lasting impression in the place that matters most – the heart of the home.
Laura
FAQs
A glaze is made up of three parts. A flux/melter that lowers the melting point, a refractory/stabilizer that bonds the glaze to the clay, and a glass former like silica. This creates the base and then a stain is added to give the glaze its color. It's a bit like mixing paint and a bit more like a chemistry experiment.
What are the steps of glazing? ›
The general process of glazing ceramics is by mixing your glazes, applying the glaze to bisque-ware, letting it dry, then finally loading it into the kiln for the glaze firing. The kiln is slowly brought up to the appropriate temperature for the silica in the glaze to melt, then slowly cooled again.
How does glaze change a piece of pottery? ›
Glaze is a liquid that comes in nearly any color and it's used to waterproof, decorate and give pottery a smooth, glass-like surface once it has been fired once.
How did the glaze make the ceramic look shiny? ›
The shiny appearance of glazed ceramic objects is achieved during the firing process when the glaze is exposed to high temperatures in the kiln.
How to make pottery step by step? ›
The Process of Making Pottery
- Step One – Design. There are SO many ideas out there for making stuff in clay! ...
- Step Two – Making. Clay is thixotropic. ...
- Step Three – Drying. ...
- Step Four – Trimming and Cleaning Up. ...
- Step Five – Bisque Firing. ...
- Step Six – Glazing. ...
- Step Seven – Glaze (Gloss or sometimes called “Glost”) Firing.
There are essentially three types of glazes you'll find used in ceramics — matte, gloss, and satin — and Katie Mudd breaks down what we should know about each of these glazes below.
What is glazing and how is it done? ›
Glazing, which derives from the Middle English for 'glass', is a part of a wall or window, made of glass. Glazing also describes the work done by a professional "glazier". Glazing is also less commonly used to describe the insertion of ophthalmic lenses into an eyeglass frame.
What are the three parts of glaze? ›
Ceramic glazes consist of three main components: glass formers, fluxes, and refractories. If you can remember those, and familiarize yourself with the characteristics of the common ceramic raw materials, you are in good shape to start developing your own successful glazes.
What is a glaze in pottery? ›
Ceramic glaze, or simply glaze, is a glassy coating on ceramics. It is used for decoration, to ensure the item is impermeable to liquids and to minimise the adherence of pollutants. Composite body, painted, and glazed bottle.
How to glaze pottery without a kiln? ›
The simplest way to glaze pottery without a kiln is to apply acrylic paint as you would ceramic glaze. Acrylic paint comes in an incredible array of shades and hues, dries quickly and cleans up easily with water. You can use the same application process for glazing pottery with acrylic paint as for ceramic glaze.
Crazing is due to a thermal expansion mismatch between body and glaze. As a piece of ware is heated and cooled during normal use, it expands and contracts. An incompatible clay and glaze usually means the glaze either immediately or eventually fails by crazing or shivering (the former being more common).
How long does it take to glaze pottery? ›
Usually taking 3-5 days, glazing is a process of removing any dust that might get in the way of glaze adhering, applying glaze in various techniques and layers, and lastly cleaning a crisp edge at the foot of your pot to ensure each object appears cared for.
How to make a glaze more glossy? ›
It's really easy to convert a matte glaze to a glossy glaze, just by adding one ingredient – Silica (SiO2). The 3 photos above are pairs of test tiles where the only difference between each pair is the addition of Silica. Matte glaze on the left + Silica = glossy glaze on the right.
What are the three main ingredients in a pottery glaze? ›
A BASE GLAZE is a mixture of these three basic groups: SILICA, FLUX AND ALUMINA.
Is there a way to glaze pottery without a kiln? ›
The simplest way to glaze pottery without a kiln is to apply acrylic paint as you would ceramic glaze. Acrylic paint comes in an incredible array of shades and hues, dries quickly and cleans up easily with water. You can use the same application process for glazing pottery with acrylic paint as for ceramic glaze.
What material is used to glaze pottery? ›
Alumina, often derived from clay, stiffens the molten glaze to prevent it from running off the piece. Colorants, such as iron oxide, copper carbonate or cobalt carbonate, and sometimes opacifiers including tin oxide and zirconium oxide, are used to modify the visual appearance of the fired glaze.
What are the four ingredients in glaze? ›
All standard ceramic glazes contain the following components:
- Glass former- silica (SiO2), melting point 3119 degrees Fahrenheit. (RO2)
- Flux- lowers the melting point of silica; provides the great variety of surfaces in ceramic glazes. ...
- Stabilizer- alumina, keeps the glaze on a vertical surface; stiffens the melt. (
