Ceramic glazes are a whole universe. Pre-made, make-your-own, colored, transparent, for dipping, brushing, spraying or pouring; for coloring, decorating or waterproofing… The options are almost endless.
I use transparent glaze for my pieces and man, oh man! I’m sweating like an ice-cream in the sun.
For the first batch I made the glaze too thin (after failing two times in finding the right bucket to mix it and dip the pieces) this means the piece will absorb water. It’s not a catastrophe but it really messes up its original intention, like drinking coffee or being washable.
An example of lousy glazing. It don’t shine at all y’all.
For the current batch I thought I prepared well. I had the right bucket and knew what was the problem, but while fixing the mix I ran out of powdered glaze and, surprise! The store doesn’t restock it until the end of the month, so I had to start from scratch with another kind of glaze which is basically the same: non-toxic, transparent and glossy, but it’s another kind. This one feels thicker and tends to make more bubbles while mixing it (bubbles are a no-no in glazing), so I’m not 100% confident that the results will be as I expect.
Using glazes require a lot of experimentation and practice and many factors, like the kind of kiln or the kind of clay you use, besides the making of the glaze, impact the final result. So let’s cross fingers this batch will end up all smooth and glossy!
Stay put for Issue 03, take care! :)