DATES: 3 consecutive Saturdays January 17, 24, and 31
TIME: 1-3:30 PM
COST: $175 for currently enrolled Vallejo Clay session students, $225 for non-students.
INSTRUCTOR: Celeste Garcia
Ready to dive into the colorful world of glaze? This hands-on, 3 week workshop introduces ceramic artists to the foundations of creating, mixing, testing, and understanding mid-range cone 5/6 ceramic glazes. Over three sessions, students will learn what glazes are made of, how they function in the kiln, and how to mix their own reliable test batches. Perfect for potters who want to deepen their understanding of materials, troubleshoot glaze results, or start creating their own glazes.
Session 1: Basics of glaze chemistry, materials, and safety
What students will learn:
● What glazes are made of: glass formers, fluxes, stabilizers, and colorants
● How raw materials behave in the kiln such as melting points
● Safety practices for weighing and handling materials
● How to read a glaze recipe and scale it to a 100g test batch
● What a button test is and why it’s useful for understanding melt, color, and material behavior
Session 2: Applying Test Glazes & Modifying Recipes
What students will learn:
● Proper mixing and sieving
● Brushing, dipping, pouring techniques for tests
● How to read and compare results from test tiles and button tests
● Easy ways to alter a glaze: adjusting silica, flux, alumina, or adding colorants
● How Mason stains and oxides influence a base glaze
Session 3: Evaluating Results & Creating Personal Glaze Variations
What students will learn:
● How to interpret fired results from both test tiles and button tiles
● Troubleshooting: melt issues, crawling, pinholes, color shifts, runs
● Adjusting recipes using simple ratio changes
● Introduction to line blends and color blends
● How to store, label, and track successful glazes for future use
What to bring:
Participants are required to bring their own respirator with P100 or P95 filters
Apron to protect clothes
Immersion blender
Refund and cancellation policy: Workshops require a 10 day notice for a refund minus $25 for processing fees that we cannot recover. For workshops with a waitlist, we will refund you up to 24 hours before class if we can fill your seat.
