History of Glazing
Before glaze was discovered, pottery was left unglazed. Because of this, it absorbed water easily.
What is porous?
Glaze is made of three main ingredients: silica (which forms glass), a flux (which helps it melt), and this heat-resistant material that adds strength and stability.
What is a refractory?
This traditional glaze is made from wood or plant ash, has acidic properties, and was widely used in East Asia.
What is ash glaze?
This glazing method involves pouring glaze into a ceramic piece and dipping it into a bucket of glaze for a smooth, even coating.
What is dip and pour glazing?
Before you begin glazing, you should cover the table and floor with newspaper to protect your workspace.
What is set up your area?
The first examples of glazed pottery were found around 3,000 BCE in this ancient region, known for early advances in civilization.
What is Mesopotamia?
When glaze and clay fuse together in the high heat of a kiln, it’s similar to covering the pottery in this material.
What is glass?
Made from tectosilicate minerals, this glaze is found in porcelain and comes in colors like pink, white, brown, gray, or blue.
What is feldspathic glaze?
One advantage of this glazing technique is that it produces an even thickness of glaze across the surface of the pottery.
What is dip and pour glazing?
Before glazing, use a damp sponge to remove all dust from every part of your pottery piece.
Before glazing, use a damp sponge to remove all dust from every part of your pottery piece.
When glaze is fired at high temperatures and melts into a glassy layer, it creates this type of hard, glass-like surface.
What is vitreous?
Once potters learned to use glaze, ceramics became more useful for these three purposes—besides just decoration.
What are food storage, building materials, and art objects?
Once popular in Europe and Asia for its glossy, opaque finish, this type of glaze is now less common because it’s poisonous and harmful to the environment.
What is lead glaze?
This technique involves applying several coats of glaze with a brush, letting each coat dry between applications to build up layers of color or pattern.
What is painting glaze?
To make sure your glaze is smooth and free of clumps, you must do this before applying it.
What is mix the glaze?
One major purpose of glaze is to do this—cover and seal the surface of the clay so it becomes nonporous and resistant to stains.
hat is to seal the pottery (or make it waterproof and stain resistant)?
During firing, glaze changes chemically in the kiln, meaning what you apply before firing might not look the same after. This is because glaze goes through this type of transformation.
What is a chemical reaction (or chemical process)?
This glaze, made mostly from salt, produces a translucent, glossy finish when fired at high kiln temperatures.
What is salt glaze?
This decorative glazing method’s name comes from the Italian word meaning “to scratch,” as it involves carving through colored slip to reveal the clay below.
What is sgraffito?
In this step, you first pour glaze inside your pot, wait a day, and then dip the outside to coat it evenly.
What is pour and dip the glaze?
Certain types of glaze make ceramic pieces safe for eating and drinking by creating a non-toxic, sealed surface.
hat is food-safe glaze (or What is making pottery food-safe)?
Glazes can vary widely—they can be opaque or transparent, and they can either stay put or do this as they melt in the kiln.
What is run or drip?
A shiny, opaque finish results from combining lead glaze with tin oxide in this traditional glaze, often used for bright decorative pieces.
What is tin glaze?
This glazing trick allows you to coat both the inside and outside of a pot at once—by pouring glaze inside, then turning it upside down to dip the exterior.
What is double dipping?
After glazing, you should sponge off the bottom and about ½ inch up the side, then wash all tools and close the glaze bucket.
What is clean bottom and clean up?