Three Helpful Tips for Layering Glazes, Plus Great Glaze Combinations

Search the Daily

Published Mar 22, 2023

While applying one single glaze to a piece can be lovely, there are some effects that come only from certain glaze combinations layered on top of each other. But you should follow some simple guidelines when layering glazes to have success.

In today's post, an excerpt from Amazing Glaze, Gabriel Kline shares his best advice for layering glaze combinations. He also shares three glaze recipes and instructions for layering them to get what he calls the "Oasis" effect. - Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

Before we dive in, here are some general guidelines for layering:

Glazes in combination can form what is called a "eutectic," which is two or more materials that, when combined, have a lower melting point than any of them individually. For our purposes, that means glazes that do not run very much individually might run down the side of the pot when combined. For this reason, always use cookies when firing glazed work. (Cookies are fired disks of kiln-washed clay that your piece can sit on.) Until you get to know the combination well, keep the second layer of glaze no more than one-third of the way down from the top of the pot. For tiered layering—that is combinations that involve a third or even a fourth glaze—keep these on-fourth of the way down the pot, or at the very lip, at least to start.

Layering multiple glazes will build up increasing amounts of glaze on your pot. If the glaze is too thick, it will eventually begin to crack and fall off the work. Use a lower specific gravity on the second and third layers, submerge the piece in glaze for a shorter period of time, or use brushing or spraying to apply thinner coats.

Always let glazes dry between coats. In some cases, you may need to use a fan to dry the work, or leave it out overnight. Make sure you give the last coat of glaze time to dry before loading pieces into the kiln as well.