Useful Ceramic Glaze Test Tiles

Once your ceramics have gone through their glaze firing they ll be vitrified and the process will be irreversible.

Useful ceramic glaze test tiles.

Test glazing can be a laborious but necessary process. Captions on the images describe each step in the making process. In this post i ll share lots of different examples of ways you can make your own test tiles. The word test tile can refer to any shape of clay that s used to test glazes slips underglazes engobes etc.

The importance of test glazes. C 20 cobalt over sm 11 white at cone 6. The colors blend seamlessly providing more dimension in pieces. How to test tweak and perfect your glazes john britt shows several different ways to make test tiles.

Glaze tests and test tiles there are many benefits to having test tiles for glazes. Every potter wants to be certain that the products they are selling are safe and will stand up to the rigors of use in the kitchen. In this video an excerpt from his dvd understanding glazes. 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.

Watercolor underglazes work best on bisque fired pieces since a great deal of water is needed to apply them. Here are examples of the test tiles i use regularly. Test tile in upright 60 degree position. 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.

Some helpful hints make your test tiles using the same process you use to make your work with. 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. Making a test tile.

Chances are you ll find one that makes sense with what you are making. This provides a more direct transfer of information effort from the testing to. All the test tiles made in the glaze gallery are made in the fashion pictured below. But because there are so many variables involved in ceramic glazes clay body and glaze fit variability in chemical content temperature variability in kilns organic materials etc it can be challenging to know whether the food safe ceramic glaze recipe you.

On the test tile above you can see the difference one coat of clear glaze makes to the watercolor surface. Test tile in 30 degree position. Marigold pear and aqua on 480m stoneware clay without grog. Test tiles can be any shape you wish and can be made in a variety of ways.

Given all the different ways different clays can react with different glazes it s important to know what you re getting. Using this type of underglaze can achieve painterly effects.