CERAMICS
WORKSHOPS

Glaze Making: Mix and Make Your Own Glazes
2 Day Workshop

Date:‍ ‍Friday 26th February and Friday 5th March 2027
Time: 1:30 - 4:30pm
Teacher:  Kim Kish
Fee: £85.00

We’ll explore the basics of glaze chemistry in a practical way, helping you understand the materials you’re buying, the equipment you need, and how to approach glaze testing safely and effectively. The aim is to demystify the process and give you a foundation for understanding glaze recipes and developing your own glazes.

Class One: Understanding and Making Glazes

Our first session introduces the fundamentals of glaze making. We’ll look at the role of chemistry, how firing temperature and heat work affect glaze results, and what determines whether a glaze is glossy, satin or matte.

You’ll learn how to read and understand glaze recipes, recognise the different raw materials used in glaze making, and make informed choices when purchasing materials. We’ll also cover essential equipment, safe handling practices, and the importance of accurate measuring and systematic testing—helping you avoid unnecessary purchases and build a useful collection of materials.

Then it’s time to get hands-on! Working in pairs, you’ll weigh, measure and mix your first glazes using a base recipe, learning practical techniques you can take back to your own studio.

Class Two: Testing, Tweaking and Experimenting

In our second session, we’ll review the results of our first glaze tests and explore how small changes can lead to different outcomes.

Using our base recipe as a starting point, we’ll experiment with adding colourants such as oxides and ceramic stains, and investigate how adjustments to the glaze composition can influence colour, surface and finish. We’ll explore ways to develop glossy and matte variations and learn how to approach testing methodically, so you can understand what has changed and why.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a better understanding of how to adapt a glaze recipe, evaluate test results and begin developing glazes of your own. The workshop focuses on mid-fire stoneware glazes fired in oxidation, providing a practical starting point for developing glazes suited to this firing range.

You will gain:

• A practical introduction to the fundamentals of glaze chemistry

• Confidence in reading glaze recipes and selecting raw materials

• An understanding of essential equipment and safe glaze-making practice.

• Hands-on experience weighing, mixing and testing a base glaze

• An introduction to modifying glazes using oxides and ceramic stains

• The skills to begin experimenting with and developing your own glaze recipes

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT:

All of the clay, materials and firings included. We will be working with a stoneware buff clay fired to 1250 degrees.

PAYMENT / IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Please ensure you can attend the workshop you have booked as we cannot offer refunds less than 14 days notice, unless we are able to fill your place with another student. Please get in touch and we will do our best.

We reserve the right to cancel our courses, taster sessions and workshops. We will endeavour to book you onto an alternative course or offer a refund.