Glaze Chemistry Workshop

Most of us learn glazes backwards. We copy a recipe, fire it, and hope. When it comes out well, we don't quite know why. When it comes out badly, we don't know what to change. This workshop starts at the beginning. We'll look at what glass is in ceramics, which elements make it up, and what each one does — what melts, what stabilises, what gives hardness and durability. From there we'll work through the logic of a recipe: why the proportions sit where they do, what happens when you move them, and how you arrive at a glaze that is not only beautiful but functional. No chemistry background required. You only need to have put something in a kiln and wondered what exactly happened to it. By the end of the month you'll be able to read a recipe and understand what each ingredient is doing, trace a fault back to its cause, and make targeted adjustments instead of guessing.