Creating Glaze Patterns with Latex Resist, plus Glaze Recipes! Courtney Martin

There are a lot of fun tools out there for potters to use to create patterns on their work. Latex resist is an excellent one because, unlike wax, it can be peeled off, so it is great for layering.

In this post, Courtney Martin shares her method for making glaze patterns with latex resist. Plus she shares a few of her glaze recipes!- Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

First I draw the pattern in pencil onto the platter. Then, I use liquid latex to paint a thin layer over the pattern using a foam brush (1). When the latex is dry, I dip the platter in the first glaze.

After the glaze dries, I remove the latex, and paint over the glaze with wax (2). After the wax is dry (I often let it dry overnight, or at least a couple of hours), I dip the platter in the second glaze and wipe away any beads from the waxed surface (3)

Because these glazes don’t really run, the pattern remains distinct after firing. I fire these glazes to cone 10 in my wood kiln, and add 4–8 pounds of salt. When I’ve fired these glazes in friends’ kilns, I’ve found that they also like hotter and saltier atmospheres. These are all very stable and I don’t have any trouble with them running.

I add Epsom salts to each of these glazes. I like the way it helps keep the glaze in suspension, and I feel like it makes the glaze stronger after it is on the pot and before it’s fired. Without the Epsom salts, I find the glaze to be dusty and hard to paint wax over.