Sprinkling and Spraying Oxides and Colorants for Great Glaze Effects Liz Mazurek

When working with organic ceramic forms, the surface treatment plays a crucial role in enhancing their natural softness and flow. By combining a stony matte glaze with sprayed and sprinkled oxides, carbonates, and colorants, Liz Mazurek achieves a surface that blooms with tiny sparkling crystals and delicate blushes of pink and red. The surfaces compliment her forms perfectly!

In this post, an excerpt from the March 2025 issue of Ceramics Monthly, Liz walks through her unconventional glazing techniques. –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS. To learn how Liz makes her organic mugs and pitchers, check out the full article in the March 2025 issue of Ceramics Monthly. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today!

Glazing and Surface Decoration

Creating organic forms begs the question of what kind of surface will match its softness. To relate to the suppleness of skin, I have selected a stony matte finish that in slow-cooled, cone-10 reduction will bloom tiny sparkling crystals and blush shades of pinks and reds when exposed to copper carbonate.

I use a satin white glaze as the interior liner, then I dip each vessel in a white matte exterior base glaze. Once the pots are all glazed both inside and out, I use a mixture of copper carbonate, a small amount of the base glaze, and 80% water, and place it into a sprayer. I line the pieces next to each other with the sides I intend to see a post-fired flash of pink facing me and quickly spray across them.

To encourage more of the pinkish-red flashing, I rotate the pieces and spray again or apply a second layer over the first—the more copper spray, the darker red the copper will turn in reduction. Once all the pieces are sprayed with the flashing mixture, I use an abstract approach when applying colorants and oxides to maintain uniqueness in each piece. To decorate, I use a small paint brush and sprinkle various oxides and encapsulated Mason stains directly onto the surface and use a spray bottle with water to secure them down (1, 2).

To further emphasize curvature and dimples, I place a layer of wax resist into the dimples and along the rim of the outside of the mug. Then, I sprinkle a fine layer of soda ash on top of the wax to make it stick (3). By intentionally placing soda ash in these areas, I am able to produce a glassy dripping effect that highlights individual curves along the work, creating irreplicable uniqueness in each design. Most recently I have been experimenting with other oxides and Mason stains to produce greens, baby blues, cobalts, and yellows. I have learned that more oxides and colorants react with each other along with the kiln’s atmosphere, producing varying results each time. Firing with a slower cool reveals speckled crystals to vibrant red drips, but may be prone to excessive running. My forms are constantly evolving with each batch as new information is captured with every firing; there is something to be learned from each piece as they all turn out unique.

the author Liz Mazurek, originally from Texas, has since worked as an artist and educator of ceramics in Colorado and California. She currently creates altered ceramic wares and exhibits her work nationally. See more on www.lizpotz.com and on Instagram @lizpotz.