Glaze Mixing Essentials
Learn to mix glazes from scratch and test a base glaze with colourants
It's time to take the next step with your glazes
😐 If you've been working with commercial glazes for a while, you know how expensive they can get.
😐 Maybe you've been using the glazes someone else makes for you and now you're bored with the options (or frustrated by the lack of options).
😐 Your pottery making skills are finally where you want them but your glaze skills need to catch up.
🤓 You're starting your own home studio and excited to fire up your new kiln but want to feel more expert about the entire process.
Bring a bit of science into your artistic practice
Put on your lab coat, safety glasses and respirator, and get ready to dip your artistic toe into the scientific side of ceramics.
Yes, I'm talking to you even if you don't feel like a math and science person or you've been feeling a little intimidated about figuring all of this out.
Here's a little secret... mixing glazes involves chemistry, but you don't have to understand chemistry to do it. You just need to be able to weigh ingredients on a scale.
I promise it's not complicated, it's a lot like baking a cake!
And the fun part is, if the chemistry aspect draws you in (you may surprise yourself), then there's a whole vast world of glaze chemistry that you'll be able to explore, once you take this first step of learning to mix glazes from scratch.
Own your creative process from start to finish
Learning glaze mixing will make your pots more unique and more you.
Potters are pretty cool in that we can take a lump of clay from the ground and mold it into any form we want. We can make dishes that get used every day, or we can make art that gets admired. Every curve, texture, pinch and shape of the clay comes from our own hands.
Wouldn't it be amazing to complete your pots with a glaze that has your chosen sheen, colour and fluidity? All because you know how to carefully mix a specific recipe and put together a combination of raw earthen materials.
I would love to teach you how to safely mix your own glazes from scratch so you can start to broaden the possibilities for completing your work.
This first step of learning how to mix and experiment with glazes will open up a whole world of exploration for you. It's a foundational skill that you can build an entire pottery career on. And it's super fun and science-y, which I love and hope you will too!
Master every step of the glaze mixing process
By the end of this course, you'll have a very detailed understanding of every step of the process, including all my pro tips from when I worked as a studio technician.
For years, I mixed buckets and buckets of studio glazes and have lots of experience to share that will help you mix glazes in a safe, efficient and organized way.
Not only will you learn the skill of mixing glazes from scratch by following a recipe, but you'll also get:
✔ Instructions for where to look on the internet for glaze recipes, plus I share a list of tried and true cone 6 recipes you can try.
✔ A list of all the supplies needed to safely and effectively mix and store your glazes, with video explanations of all tools.
✔ "Sue's Fully Stocked Glaze Lab" - a list of all the glaze ingredients and quantities I regularly keep stocked in my studio to give you an idea of what materials you should buy first.
✔ Glaze batching sheets that you can print, fill out and then check off each material as you add it to the bucket.
✔ My handy "Bucket Sizing Equation" so you'll know what size glaze batch fits in what size bucket.
✔ Instructions that you can download and print and keep in your studio and all presentation slides to download and refer back to.
✔ A Colour Run demo (the start of your glaze testing journey) - learn how to take a base glaze and test it with the colourants of your choice.
✔ Examples of glazes made with different colourants to help you decide which colourants to use.
Bonuses:
✔ An extensive Resource Library full of videos and info about many glaze topics not covered in the workshop. And all the videos are searchable!
✔ "What Do the Glaze Materials Do?" document - this is a very basic intro to the chemistry of glaze materials.
So if you're ready to start mixing your own unique glazes, I hope you'll join me in Glaze Mixing Essentials.
This is a self-study, independent course that you get lifetime access to when you sign up. Looking for more support on the journey? I've got you covered! Read on for info about joining The Glaze Lab membership.
Get Started Today!
The Self-Study Option
Take Glaze Mixing Essentials independently
- Lifetime Access to the full, step-by-step Glaze Mixing Essentials program
- Downloadable and printable instructions and batching sheets
- A Glaze Resource Library full of supplementary articles and videos about glazes
- NO student community
- NO Zoom calls
- NO instructor support is included in the self-study option. If you’d like support, be sure to choose the supported option.
Self-Study Option
= $197 USD / $245 CAD
The Supported Option
Includes everything you get in the self study option, PLUS
- 3 months of support in The Glaze Lab (Sue’s monthly membership – reg price $39 USD/month or $50 CAD/month)
- 24/7 access to a private student community for questions and discussions
- 2x Zoom calls every month with Sue for face-to-face discussions about your glazes
- A growing library full of glaze experiments, studio trainings, masterclasses and workshops about all things glazes and operating a pottery studio
- Includes What Do the Glaze Materials Do? workshop (reg price: $57 USD)
3 months support
= $99 USD or $130 CAD
(Total for GME + 3 months in The Glaze Lab
= $296 USD or $375 CAD)
How to choose your option at checkout
Self-study is the default option.
If you want to add 3 months of support in The Glaze Lab membership, just click on the “Optional 3 months of support” toggle.
This will increase purchase price by $99.
Any coupons used will apply to the price of GME only.
Refund Policy
Both the Glaze Mixing Essentials program and optional support in The Glaze Lab are non-refundable. If you want to learn how to mix glazes from scratch and test a base glaze with multiple colourants, that's exactly what you'll learn and you won't be disappointed. Be sure to read about what's not covered in this course before signing up. If you're not certain if this is the right course for you, please email support@suemcleodceramics.com and we can help you decide.
Get access to instructor and peer support while you're learning
Glaze Mixing Essentials is a completely independent, self-study program. But for some of you, you'll want to be able to ask questions as you go and make sure you're applying the knowledge correctly to your specific situation.
You may have questions about the glaze recipes you've chosen, different material choices, your kiln and firing schedule, funky results coming out of the kiln. So many variables come with mixing and firing your own glazes.
This is what the Supported Option is for!
If you'd prefer to take Glaze Mixing Essentials with access to instructor and peer support, then you'll definitely want to choose the Supported Option, which gives you 3-months access to The Glaze Lab membership (click link for more info).
The Glaze Lab includes a private, students only community and 2x Zoom calls every month so you can ask questions and get the support you need as you start your glaze mixing journey.
Plus, The Glaze Lab includes dozens of extra classes, workshops, glaze experiments, behind-the-scenes videos and more, to help you as you continue on your glaze journey.
Topics include:
- Using CMC gum to make glazes brushable
- Clay absorption/vitrification testing
- Glaze Blending Series - co-axial blends, line blends, biaxial blends and triaxial blends
- Firing schedules and kiln programming
- Glaze leach testing
- What Do the Glaze Materials Do? workshop
- Glaze material substitutions
- Kiln shelf maintenance
- Kiln inspection/maintenance schedules
- Kiln cooling cycle mapping
- Behind the scenes posts and videos of me working on various tasks in my home studio.
And more!
Click here to read more about The Glaze Lab membership.
Once your 3 months in The Glaze Lab are up, you'll be invited to stay in membership on a monthly or annual basis ($39 USD/month or $390 USD/year).
Choose the Supported Option for Access to The Glaze Lab Membership
"This course was so thorough! It was awesome! There is so much to learn, my only wish now is to take an in-person workshop with Sue so I can absorb more of her knowledge!"
Preview the GME Intro Video
"You are an amazing teacher! I love your story times, handouts, hands-on learning videos, and how you add extra info to make the chemistry and why behind Cone 6 glazing understandable. Thank you for such a great workshop!"
What You'll Learn in Glaze Mixing Essentials
By the end of this class, you’ll know how to choose a suitable glaze recipe, scale it up to your desired batch size and mix it from scratch. You’ll also know how to take any base recipe and test it with different colourants.
Printable worksheets and instructions are provided.
Here’s what the class will cover:
Choosing and reading a glaze recipe
- Learn the basics of how glaze recipes are written and what to look for when choosing a recipe
- Learn the difference between glaze temperatures and where you can look to find glaze recipes for your temperature
- A collection of cone 6 glazes is provided if you don’t have a recipe in mind that you want to make.
- Bonus lesson: "What Do the Glaze Materials Do?" This is a very basic introduction to glaze chemistry for those who are interested in understanding the function and purpose each material in the recipe serves in creating the final result.
Batching a recipe
- I’ll help you decide what batch size of glaze to make based on your container/bucket size or what you want to do with it.
- Learn how to “batch a recipe” by converting percentages to grams. I’ll teach you the simple math but also show a way you can avoid the math if you prefer.
- Learn how batching your recipes can help you with ordering materials.
- You’ll get a batching sheet that you can print and use in your studio.
Supplies, equipment and materials needed for safe glaze mixing
- There's a full glaze mixing supply list (with pictures) of the tools and equipment you need to mix buckets of glaze for dipping as well as test sized glazes for experimenting.
- Supply list is also provided as a handout that you can print off
- “Sue’s Fully Stocked Glaze Lab” is the complete list of every glaze material I stock in my glaze mixing studio, categorized by their basic function in a glaze recipe. (Note: I live in Canada. Material availability varies around the world.)
Weighing materials, mixing and sieving
- Learn how to safely and accurately weigh out glaze materials.
- What order should materials be added to the bucket?
- How much water should you start with?
- How to sufficiently mix and sieve your glazes so they perform well.
- Glaze mixing instructions will be provided as a handout that you can print off
Glaze testing and experimenting
- Learn the basics of glaze testing and experimenting.
- How to make sure your glaze tests will scale accurately to a larger batch size.
- How to take any glaze recipe and convert it to a “base recipe” by removing colourants and opacifiers.
- Design a glaze testing experiment called a “Colour Run” that will give you multiple glaze colours using one base glaze.
- Colour Run instructions are provided as a handout that you can print off.
- I’ll provide lots of examples and photos to help you decide which colourants to try.
Here's what the class won’t cover
While I would love to cover absolutely everything related to glazes, this workshop has a very specific focus which is to learn how to safely mix glazes from scratch and test a base glaze with colourants.
These topics won’t be covered in this workshop but I’ll share lots of resources for further learning.
- Glaze chemistry (glaze fit/crazing, changing glaze firing temperatures, material substitutions, glaze durability, altering base recipes - these topics are covered in The Art of Glaze Chemistry)
- Food safety and toxicity
- Kilns and firing schedules
- Glazing techniques
- Slips, oxide stains, underglazes
- Measuring specific gravity, flocculating, deflocculating (these topics are covered in Mastering Glaze Consistency)
Get Started Today!
Registration includes lifetime access and you can start right away.
"Your workshop was a ten out of ten and this is not written lightly."
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will I have access to the course for?
When you purchase this course, you have lifetime access.
This means that as long as Sue McLeod Ceramics is selling this course, you will have access - for the lifetime of the course.
If the course is ever going to be discontinued (which Sue does not plan or anticipate), she will give you 30 days' notice to download all materials in the program.
Is this class pre-recorded or live?
Glaze Mixing Essentials is all pre-recorded lessons that you can watch at your convenience. If you join us in The Glaze Lab, there are 2 live Zoom calls each month. These are also recorded and added to the membership so you don't have to attend them live.
Is this course just for cone 6 glazes?
This glaze mixing course will teach you how to mix any glaze recipe for any temperature. The mixing and testing processes are the same, regardless of temperature. I'll be offering some cone 6 recipes to those who want them but I also show you where you can look to find glaze recipes for every temperature.
What if I live in another country and can't access North American materials?
This course will be focused on the glaze mixing and testing process, which is the same regardless of materials. So as long as you're choosing recipes that use your local materials, you'll be good to go. After taking this course, you'll be able to mix any recipe with any materials.
Why are the prices in US Dollars?
Since my students are international, USD is the most “universal” currency option.
What's your refund policy?
Since you get instant access to this digital workshop, no refunds will be offered. If you want to learn how to mix glazes from scratch and test a base glaze with multiple colourants, that's exactly what you'll learn so you won't be disappointed. Be sure to read about what's not covered in this course before signing up.
"I really wanted to see exactly how the glaze would be mixed, very basic steps. You met those goals and beyond!"
Your Instructor - Sue McLeod
I’ve been mixing my own glazes from scratch since my 2nd year of art school in 2009. Learning to mix glazes solidified my love for ceramics. It added a whole other element to working with clay that I didn’t even know existed when I started.
Since 2015, I’ve worked as a ceramics studio technician at a busy public studio in Victoria, BC, Canada, where it’s my job to mix and maintain large batches of glaze and order all the supplies, materials and equipment for the studio.
Learning to mix glazes and change their colourants was the jumping off point for over a decade of exploring glazes on a deeper and deeper level and has truly become my passion in life.
Not ready for a course yet? Check out my blog and articles published in Ceramics Monthly magazine for lots of free information.
Questions?
All questions about the workshop can be sent through my website contact form. I'd love to hear from you!
"Hard to pinpoint exactly what was most useful since everything was so informative. I came away with so much knowledge and confidence!"
Get Started Today!
Registration includes lifetime access and you can start right away.