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The possibilities with glaze are really endless, but I'll highlight a few things you should know.
Translucence
Translucence
Most glazes we use are partially see-through, or translucent. That means that the thinner you paint them onto your project, the more see-through they will appear.
It also means they tend to fill in textures and crevices nicely. Look how the glaze lays nicely on these flower-textured tiles. It appears thinner where the texture bumps outward, and thicker where the recesses are. Beautiful!
You can use the translucence of glaze to achieve a number of really cool layered effects.
Layering - Recesses
Layering - Recesses
If you have a textured ceramic project, you can paint glaze into all the recessed areas (all the nooks and crannies and crevices), then wipe it off the raised surfaces and apply a different color across the raised surfaces. Check out these cool ceramic projects here to see how that can look:
Rita Walker applied a dark glaze to her sculpture, then wiped it off the raised surfaces. She then applied lighter colors to the project. The result is that the textures and patterns really pop!
This artist at CeramiqueCote on Etsy did a similar technique using black glaze, and then white, to bring out the detail of the curly sheep wool and the details in the sheep's face.
The artist at Forage Studios has an informative tutorial for how they used a dark glaze to bring out the line art in their squid glaze design.
You can also do this technique with bright colors, not just dark colors. Look how beautiful the effect is on this dove tile!
Layering - Self-Blending
Layering - Self-Blending
Another cool approach is to paint one glaze completely over another and allow them to blend on their own.
We have a number of glazes whose properties make them really great for layering in this way. These glazes are very flowy and pool in recessed areas. So if you FIRST coat your project in a more stable color (one that doesn't flow as much), and THEN add the flowy glaze, you can make cool effects as shown below.
Mottled Burgundy and Fuchsia are two more of our glazes that layer really well with other colors!
Layering - Blended by You
Layering - Blended by You
You can also blend colors together by hand to make an ombre, tie-dye, or various other beautiful effects!
Tie-Dye
Tie-Dye
Here's a quick demonstration on the basic technique for a tie-dye look. If you let the colors overlap on purpose, they blend together somewhat to create a color in between.
Ombre
Ombre
You can also blend one color into the next, into the next, and so on, to create an ombre or gradient.
Smooth Ombre
You can create a smooth ombre by first applying one color of glaze (such as the orange here). Then apply the second color of glaze (such as the blue here). Then use a brush and a little of each (orange and blue) to create a blend between them.
Rough Ombre
You can also create rough ombres using other techniques, such as splattering or speckling the glaze, marbline, or dripping (more about those techniques in the next section, but for now, let's enjoy these awesome rough ombres).
Marbled Ombre
Marbled Ombre
I would call this a marbled ombre. The light color was applied, then while it was still wet, the dark color was applied thinly over the bottom part, then thicker and thicker as it went toward the tops of the vases.
Splatter Ombre
Splatter Ombre
Another kind of ombre effect can be achieved by splattering glaze onto the surface, concentrating it more heavily on one side and more lightly on the other.
Drip Ombre
Drip Ombre
And then of course, there is the drip ombre! Apply glaze over the whole surface, then drip another color of glaze over top!
Layering - Splatter/Speckle, Marble, and Drip
Layering - Splatter/Speckle, Marble, and Drip
Let's take a look at each of these fun ways to layer glazes.
Splatter/Speckle
Splatter/Speckle
To create a splatter effect, first apply a base color. A light color works best as a base color (white, yellow, light blue, light pink, etc.). Then partially water down your other glaze color(s) and splatter them on by flinging them at the surface with a brush.
You can even splatter over a stencil to get a different effect! Here, the artist laid down paper cutouts of stars, then flung the watered down glaze over top. Remove the paper stars afterward, and voila! Stenciled splatter!
Marbled
Marbled
Marbling is when you partially mix wet colors by tilting the project all around, or by dragging them around with a tool of some sort.
Some people even use a technique involving bubbles or shaving cream! I don't have those supplies, but if you're interested in that, you're welcome to bring stuff in and give it a go!
Follow the link here to see this marbled heart plate being made.
Dripping
Dripping
There are a lot of really cool effects you can achieve just by dripping glazes over each other. This might require mixing a bit of water into your glaze to get it to run better.
You start by applying a base coat of whatever color you want, then drip another color (or two, or three, or seven!) over it. You can spin your project to use gravity to pull the drips in any direction.
Be careful not to use TOO much glaze, or it will drip TOO much and ruin your project by overflowing over the bottom of the pot.
Paint Effects with Underglazes
Paint Effects with Underglazes
And finally, you can do a lot of paint effects with Underglazes.
These are the small bottles of glaze that come in many colors.
They are naturally matte (sandy or chalky) after firing and require a clear coat to be put on separately once they are applied, in order for them to be shiny.
Ceramic Studio Shohreh has used underglazes in patches of solid color to create these beatiful patterns and shapes in a folk art style.
Louise Fulton has used underglazes in a way that makes them look like watercolor paints!
And of course, don't forget all the amazing painterly underglaze effects shown in the donut works by Jae Yong Kim!
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