To give pottery colour, a coating, known as a glaze, consisting of ground glass and colour

pigments are fused onto the clay surface through intense heat in a kiln.

GLAZING POTTERY

The kiln is a large oven lined with fire bricks and heating elements.

This oven can reach a temperature of over 1000 degrees

1. Dip pots into glaze

There are five ways to glaze pottery

2. Pour glaze in and on

3. Brush glaze on

4. Sponge glaze on

5. Spray glaze on

•Before you start, stir the glaze pots for quite a while and keep stirring all the time. The glaze is heavier than water and will sink to the bottom otherwise.

•Always wash your brush before changing to a new colour.

•You can paint one colour on top of another

•Cover the pot with a thick, smooth layer of glaze. Don’t leave any gaps.

•You will find that the glaze will dry very quickly because the fired clay is porous.

•Check what glazes you have used because they will change colour after they have been fired in the kiln.

•Do not glaze the underneath of your pottery – if you do it will stick to the shelf in the kiln when it is being fired. If any glaze gets there by accident, wipe it off with a wet cloth

When the glazing is finished the pot is put back in the kiln to be ‘fired’again, this time up to 1000 degrees. When the pot comes out of the kiln, it will have a permanent glaze skin –

ready for use!