What Are Natural Slips and How Do They Work as Glaze? Natural slip is liquid clay, nothing more. It is the same clay body you throw or handbuild with, thinned with water to a creamy consistency and applied to the surface of your pot. When fired to the clay body’s maturation temperature, the slip vitrifies…
Terra sigillata is not a glaze. It is a super-refined clay slip that produces a soft satin sheen without any glass-forming materials. That distinction matters because terra sigillata does not melt in the kiln. It bonds to the clay surface through physical adhesion of microscopic clay platelets, not through vitrification. This guide covers every step…
Ceramic glaze is not paint. It is a glass coating whose final color depends on exact chemistry, precise firing conditions, and consistent application technique across every single piece. You open the kiln after a 12-hour firing. The mugs you glazed as a matching set come out as three different shades of blue. This problem has…
Most potters assume commercial glazes cost more than mixing their own. The truth depends entirely on how many pots you make each year and which glaze materials you buy in bulk. By the Numbers Commercial vs Studio-Mixed Glazes: Key Figures Sources: Ceramic Arts Network community survey data, manufacturer pricing, and studio cost tracking $12-$45 Cost…
Most glaze failures happen before a brush ever touches bisqueware. The decision between mixing your own glazes from raw powders and buying ready-made liquid formulations shapes your entire ceramic process, from cost structure to creative control. This guide covers the full decision framework for studio mixing versus commercial ready-made glazes at every firing range. It…
Ceramic glaze is not paint. It is a thin layer of glass fused to clay at temperatures above 1,800°F, and what goes into that glass determines whether your morning coffee stays in the mug or slowly leaches metals into your body. Most potters assume any glaze fired to the right cone is automatically safe to…