Practical Glaze Chemistry

Where theory meets practice!

Welcome to my glaze courses

Have you ever found yourself endlessly testing glazes with little or no result?
Or did you not even know were to start?

All too often we find ourselves with a promising looking glaze but heaps of questions:

  • Is the glaze appropriate for dinnerware and will it leach?

  • Will the glaze work with your materials if the recipe originated from the other side of the globe?

  • Or what to do if you don’t have all the exact materials?

  • And what do all these materials do anyway?!?

Come join and explore what makes glazes tick! Learn what it means for a glaze to be good, stable, and durable. Focus your glaze exploration towards more successful results and confidence in identifying and dealing with issues. With the help of glazy.org, chemistry for potters has never been easier!

Glaze chemistry has become one of my passions that I would love to share with you! I am the Moderator on the Facebook group Understanding Glazes with Sue with now over 27,000 members(!!!) and love to share, teach, and demystify bits of this wondrous world of glazes. I look forward to taking you on a journey into the theory behind glazes and how we can make it practical. And while theory and chemistry may look intimidating at times, the courses are intended to deal with the subject in a way that matches how potters and clay-artists think.

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Course 1+2 – Fundamentals of Practical Glaze Chemistry: 10-week course
Course 1+2 – Fundamentals of Practical Glaze Chemistry: 10-week course
$495.00 
Wednesdays 6:30pm–9:00pm

incl. a 52-page handout booklet, glaze materials, and firing

This 10-week course is a combination of Course 1 & 2 combined. It is intended for both potters who want to start getting into mixing their own glazes (cone 6-10), as well as those who already have some basic knowledge and experience.

In this course we will explore ways of understanding glazes and how to put theory into practice, explore efficient testing methods, and review the fired results.

Course 1 – Introduction to Practical Glaze Chemistry: 6-weeks
Course 1 – Introduction to Practical Glaze Chemistry: 6-weeks
$365.00 
Wednesdays 6:30pm–9:00pm

incl. a 52-page handout booklet, glaze materials, and firing

This 6 week course is indented for both potters who are wanting to start getting into mixing their own glazes, as well as those who already have some basic knowledge and experience.

We will explore ways of understanding glazes and how to put theory into practice, finalising with testing glazes and a review of the results.

After this course you will:

  • be able to analyse glazes using glazy.org

  • know what the various materials do in a glaze

  • think of 5,000,000 materials as just a source of 12 compounds

  • understand how to adjust for local materials with confidence

  • have explored colour and texture in a glaze

  • walk away with a bunch of new tested recipes and heaps of new knowledge!

The cost of the course includes materials and test firing. You do need to bring your own personal protective equipment and prepare test tiles (though arrangements can be made where necessary).

Course 2 – Advancing towards Your Perfect Glaze: 6-weeks
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Course 2 – Advancing towards Your Perfect Glaze: 6-weeks
$335.00

incl. worksheets, glaze materials, and firing

This 6 week course is indented for potters who have taken the course Introduction to Practical Glaze Chemistry, or already have a thorough understanding of the UMF and materials in glazes.

We will explore the various ways to control your glazes, how to fine tune for specific effects, and finish with investigating new strategies for testing glazes and reviewing the results.

After this course you will:

  • be capable of manipulating your glazes through their chemistry

  • be able to control the glaze application

  • understand how to achieve special effects

  • know how to mitigate various glaze defects

  • have new strategies to efficiently test glaze chemistries

  • walk away with a bunch of new tested recipes and heaps of new knowledge!

The cost of the course includes materials and test firing. You do need to bring your own personal protective equipment and prepare test tiles (though arrangements can be made where necessary).


Fundamentals of Practical Glaze Chemistry: 5-day intensive
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Fundamentals of Practical Glaze Chemistry: 5-day intensive
$500.00

Coming soon again at:

Driving Creek Pottery Coromandel Fundamentals of Practical Glaze Chemistry (cone 6-10)

incl. a 52-page handout booklet, glaze materials, and firing

This 5-day course is intended for both potters who want to start getting into mixing their own glazes (cone 6-10), as well as those who already have some basic knowledge and experience.

In this course we will explore ways of understanding glazes and how to put theory into practice, explore efficient testing methods, and review the fired results.

Glaze course testimonials

Shelley Blondheim

“We didn't just learn how to mix glazes we learnt the chemistry behind the glazes, now we understand how a glaze will react. This makes the whole process so much more productive. Ronald is a born teacher. I would never hesitate to take any course he was teaching.”

Carlene Akester

“I got soooo much more from it than I expected.”

Clive Tucker

“I have many years experience of mixing and testing glazes. After the course, I can now predict how the glaze will look and feel, before I make it!! I understand how glazes work a lot better than ever before.”

Megan Tarris

“Gained a ton of knowledge in a short period, really enjoyed the small size class, personalized testing element, and review party.”

For enquiries and announcement of dates, add your email to the list by clicking the button below!