Heathcote Road

Joy, wonder, surprise, frustration, uncertainty, magic.
Just a few of the many emotions one can experience when one glazes pottery.

It’s all part of the artistic process. The letting go. Not having complete control over your medium and by extension, the final product.

The exact thickness (or thinness) of the glaze, the firing temperature & sequence, the order the glazes, the texture of the piece, and the interaction between various glaze colours and compositions are factors that contribute to the very individual results that a piece of ceramic art (whether functional or purely decorative) will express.

This uniqueness is something to be celebrated, and makes each piece a truly one-off.
There are, however, times when consistency would be nice, and perhaps even desirable.

I am still in the early stages of discovery with pottery itself. The wheel and I are quickly becoming fast friends. Glazing is an integral part of the craft of making either functional or decorative pieces out of clay. My personal palette is still developing, but I think I know where it is heading… to the dark side. Where they have cookies!

But seriously. I have been creating pottery works over the last few weeks at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. Each glaze sample at the Museum is shown with 1, 2, or 3 coats on both white and red clay.
In the Tableware class, the lovely instructor also has a great selection of tile samples that feature many, many glaze combinations for inspiration, and emulation.
I have also been inspired sufficiently to purchase some of my own glazes to augment those at the museum. I will expand upon those on another day.

When searching for photographs of actual finished pieces glazed with Spectrum low fire glazes (this is the brand that they use at the Museum) I found such images to be almost non-extant. To help remedy this situration, I will try to showcase my glaze results, listing the names of the glazes used and if possible, their order. I hope that this may be useful to others in search of inspiration or guidance in choosing glaze colours and combinations.

One caveat, being able to capture the complexity of texture ( matte, shiny, satin) and the interplay of colours has proved challenging. I will do my level best to post photographs that to my eyes and on my monitor, most closely represent the work as it exists.

All glazes used are Spectrum low fire glazes cone 04-06

Without further blether, let’s get to the results!

Fig. 1. Stunning colours and finishes on this first piece. The inside is all shiny, and the spiral adds textural interest. The outside features a glorious satin finish that is reminiscent of burnished metal.

Inside: black 1x,  polished armour 1x,  a spot of burnt sugar in the centre.

Outside:  burnt sugar 2x, lightly brushed with gunmetal and polished armour, then random flashes of burnt sugar.  Voila!

Fig. 1

Fig 2. Handbuilt bowl (not on the wheel). Inside: royal blue 1x, medallion in centre in kelp forest, outside in royal blue 1x, band of kelp forest near the top, chocolate brown along the rim. As this was my very first piece, I was unsure of glaze quantities and in hindsight, should have gone for second applications of the royal blue especially. May still re-glaze it, but right now have so many more pieces waiting for attention!

Fig. 2. Handbuilt bowl, embossed pendant.

Fig. 3. This one is just brilliant, in my estimation.

Inside: Gator – one generous coat, Turquoise poured and sponged.

Outside: Gator – one generous coat, Chocolate Brown – 2 coats.

The rim of the bowl is trimmed with Tarnished Silver.

Fig. 3 Gator, chocolate and turquoise.