How do you paint on Glaze?

We paint glaze on in thick layers and you have to let glaze dry COMPLETELY before the next layer. 

Glaze might look lumpy or uneven when you paint it on. DO NOT keep painting over and over to try and get it smooth, it will just thin the layer down and you will have too little glaze. Remember glaze MELTS in the kiln and will even out! 

Glazes can be use by themselves (one color) or layered on top of each other to get different effects and even new colors!

When finished glazing we wipe the bottom of the pots. GLAZE MELTS - TURNS TO GLASS when it cools....if there is glaze on the bottom of your piece it will fuse to the kiln shelf= Grumpy Mrs. Bailey 

Picking Colors and Type of Glaze

When picking colors you first have to look at your pottery and see if you have texture that you need to see or is your pottery completely smooth? This determines what kind of glaze you will use. 

We use 3 types of Amaco commercial glazes. 

Celadon Glazes (C). 

• • These glazes are translucent or see through, meaning you can see the clay under the glaze. 

  • Think of Celadons like tinted stain glass. 

  • They are the best glaze for textured surfaces. 

  • The exception to this are the White and Black Celadons called Snow and Obsidian. These two are OPAQUE meaning you cannot see through them and they will cover up any texture. 

  • Celadon glazes are very stable. They stay where you paint them and do not have variation in the color meaning green will stay green. 

 Amaco's Potter's Choice (PC) glazes. 

• These glazes have lots of variations in them. 

• Some can turn different colors or have speckles or crystal like formations on the surface. 

• Potter's Choice glazes tend to move/ are fluid in the kiln (not all do) which means that as they melt they can drip down the side of a pot. 

Amaco Satin Matte (SM) glazes 

• These are Opaque and NOT SHINY 

• The surface is soft 

• Makes a good contrast with shiny glazes 

• These are stable glazes 

Mayco Glazes - Different Brand!

• Some are glossy (shiny) some are Matte and more stone like in texture 

• Some are translucent some are opaque 

• We don't have much info on layering with them with PC and Celadon  

Layering Glazes 

Layering: You can layer Potter's Choice (PC) glazes over other Potter's Choice (PC) glazes or you can layer Potter's Choice (PC)  OVER Celadons (C)to get new colors. 

Layering Rules: PC over PC you need 2 coats of your base color and then 2 coats of your top color 

PC over Celadons: 3coats base color and 3 coats of the PC over.  

Celadon over Celadon: 3 coats and 3 coats. This is a good option for pattern designs that you want to keep clean crisp lines. RULE: Darker colors OVER Light colors! If you put a light color on top of a dark color you will not see it! 

Sometimes these rules change so check the examples online. ASK FOR HELP! 

Staining

Staining is a process of painting one coat a DARK Celadon glaze over textured surface and wiping it off with a clean sponge at the sink (watch the video before attempting) A LIGHTER Celadon must be applied over the stained area. You must let the stained piece DRY 24hrs before putting another color over.