Ceramic Glaze Test Tiles

The ceramic glaze testing process.

Ceramic glaze test tiles.

Prepare a test tile. This test tile clearly reveals how much and to what extent the ingredient influences the glaze. Chances are you ll find one that makes sense with what you are making. It effectively tests the influence of adding an ingredient to a glaze in five consecutive increments 0 10 20 30 40 in my examples all on one test tile.

And to improve your results it helps to have test tiles that mimic the kind of work you make. In today s post an excerpt from the may june 2019 issue of pottery making illustrated gabriel kline shares two tests that can help you determine if you re using food safe ceramic glazes in your practice. Test tile in 30 degree position. Just make sure to indicate the clay body on the test tile somehow.

Test tile in upright 60 degree position. If you plan to use the glaze in a multiple layer glazing strategy the glaze or glazes should be thin and milky. My l shaped glaze test tile design is ideal for glaze testing for several reasons. If you work in several clay bodies it s good to make test tiles out of all of them.

I do a lot of glaze testing and needed to find solutions to the problems of moving and handling large quantities of test tiles through the different stages of. For single color application this is liable to be the thickness of heavy cream. How to test tweak and perfect your glazes john britt shows several different ways to make test tiles. I stamp the back of the tile with a code for the type of clay and there is ample space to write information about the test using an underglaze pencil.

Jennifer poellot harnetty editor. This pair of diy tile stands addresses numerous problems. The easiest way to make up your test glazes is to make a series of different ceramic tiles in the different types of clay you ll be working with. For more ways to test your glazes check out the may june 2019 issue of pottery making.

It allows you to test combinations of glazes easily and inexpensively and serves as a permanent reminder of what a glaze looked like on a certain clay. This shows her whether the glaze will accentuate her designs. In this video an excerpt from his dvd understanding glazes. Otherwise if you re like me you forget very quickly.

Thin the glaze with water to the appropriate consistency. The hole in the base allows the tile to be hung on a glaze bucket or on a display. Glaze tests and test tiles there are many benefits to having test tiles for glazes. Glazes can look and behave vastly different on different clay bodies.

Test tiles provide essential information for fired ceramic pieces but can be a hassle to keep organized in and out of the kiln.