Ceramic Glaze Test Tiles

The ceramic glaze testing process.

Ceramic glaze test tiles.

Thin the glaze with water to the appropriate consistency. Just make sure to indicate the clay body on the test tile somehow. And to improve your results it helps to have test tiles that mimic the kind of work you make. If you plan to use the glaze in a multiple layer glazing strategy the glaze or glazes should be thin and milky.

I do a lot of glaze testing and needed to find solutions to the problems of moving and handling large quantities of test tiles through the different stages of. It allows you to test combinations of glazes easily and inexpensively and serves as a permanent reminder of what a glaze looked like on a certain clay. This test tile clearly reveals how much and to what extent the ingredient influences the glaze. It effectively tests the influence of adding an ingredient to a glaze in five consecutive increments 0 10 20 30 40 in my examples all on one test tile.

Once your ceramics have gone through their glaze firing they ll be vitrified and the process will be irreversible. For more ways to test your glazes check out the may june 2019 issue of pottery making. Most people use some form of. The hole in the base allows the tile to be hung on a glaze bucket or on a display.

My l shaped glaze test tile design is ideal for glaze testing for several reasons. Ashley keller hand carves her test tiles. In this video an excerpt from his dvd understanding glazes. This pair of diy tile stands addresses numerous problems.

Test tiles provide essential information for fired ceramic pieces but can be a hassle to keep organized in and out of the kiln. Glazes can look and behave vastly different on different clay bodies. I stamp the back of the tile with a code for the type of clay and there is ample space to write information about the test using an underglaze pencil. Prepare a test tile.

Jennifer poellot harnetty editor. The easiest way to make up your test glazes is to make a series of different ceramic tiles in the different types of clay you ll be working with. Test tile in 30 degree position. In today s post an excerpt from the may june 2019 issue of pottery making illustrated gabriel kline shares two tests that can help you determine if you re using food safe ceramic glazes in your practice.

Glaze tests and test tiles there are many benefits to having test tiles for glazes. Chances are you ll find one that makes sense with what you are making. How to test tweak and perfect your glazes john britt shows several different ways to make test tiles. Test tile in upright 60 degree position.

If you work in several clay bodies it s good to make test tiles out of all of them.