This is a 4-6 week glaze calc component that can be added into a course to give the student a working understanding of the basic principles of a glaze, the ways the materials in our studio work, and how to test glazes and formulate new ones that better realize the goals in our work.
This is designed as a “starter course” for a basic understanding of glaze calc. Further study is always encouraged.
Additional glaze resources can be found HERE.

Approximate schedule (as usual, subject to change)
Class ONE
- READING: Chapter 1 of GLAZE: The Ultimate Ceramic Artist’s Guide to Glaze and Color by Brian Taylor and Kate Doody
- Lecture on components of glazes: fluxes, glassformers, stabilizers, opacifiers, and colorants
- Make test tiles and fusion buttons. Load bisque kiln with tiles and buttons
Class TWO
- READING: From GLAZE – Pages 44-45, 69-85, 94-95
- Unload bisque with test tiles and buttons
- Demo fusion buttons. Make fusion tests. Load fusions into cone 10, cone 6, and 04 kilns
- Refresh our understanding of the components of a glaze
- Review Glazy.org
Class THREE
- Demo how to use the digital and triple beam balance.
- Demo line blends.
- Line blend handout
- Design line blend experiments with each student and start mixing tests. These tests need to be mixed and applied to tiles by the end of the next class.
Class FOUR
- Organize and review fusion test results
- Finish mixing and applying line blends
- Load line blends into cone 10 / cone 6
- Lecture about glaze fit, glaze defects and how to troubleshoot, COE, major categories of glazes (lowfire, midrange, highfire)
Class FIVE
- Class discussion on line blend tests if they are all out of the kiln. (If they aren’t out, move discussion to next class)
- Discuss the principles and purpose of triaxial blends, how they work, etc.
- Begin designing individual triaxial blends with each student.
Class SIX
- READING: From GLAZE: Pages 86-93, 96-99
- Triaxial blend handout
- Demo how to make triaxial blends.
- Finish designing triaxial blends if we didn’t finish last class.
- Triaxial blend worksheet
- Start mixing and applying triaxial blends. These tests need to be ready to load into the cone 10 at the start of the next class (best to give students a weekend to do this).
Class SEVEN
- Load triaxials into cone 10 / cone 6
- Review all glaze information in preparation for glaze quiz
- Introduce Tools for the Apocalypse project
Class EIGHT
- Unload triaxial blends.
- Class discussion on triaxial tests if they are out
- Take glaze quiz