studio glazes

[akilpots]

for people that mix their own glazes how many are you managing in your studio? i have a smallish home studio in my garage and wish i could manage like a dozen but about 5 seems more likely.

[Marilyn T]

For functional glazes I have two ^6 base glazes that fit the clay I am using and then I have small containers of accent glazes.  I add stains/oxides to the base glazes to get the colours I want. I mix these base glazes into 5 gallon buckets and put a dolly under them to move them around my small studio space. Finding a suitable base glaze involved a lot of testing.  

I've gone the other route where I had up to 30 different glaze buckets,  but ended up realizing I was wasting a lot of materials and space to find the glazes I wanted to use.  For my present clay, only 2 out of 30 were a good fit and they only worked with the oxides in it -- with the oxides removed or different oxides -- they pinholed.   For the previous clay I used, none of them were a good fit (they all had delayed crazing).

I don't make non-functional work but if I did I would have as many glazes as I needed to create the style(s) I wanted.  Less options make it easier for you to find your voice.  

[GEP]

For most of the 20+ years I’ve had my basement studio, I’ve been using the same 3 base recipes. A dry matte, a semi-matte, and a glossy base. I have 1 variation on the dry matte, 2 variations of the semi-matte, and 2 variations of the glossy. Which equals 5 total. Which means I totally agree with your goal to keep 5 glazes. 

I also agree with @Marilyn T that having fewer glazes is beneficial to you, in terms of artistic growth. 

Edited January 24 by GEP

[Min]

I use 4 main glaze colours for dipping glazes, all made from one base plus a clear liner, these are in 5 or 6 gallon buckets plus an accent glaze that is just a small container of glaze. When I used to spray glazes I had more glazes but could mix up smaller amounts of them since I didn't have to have a big bucket to dip them in. I find that using less colours makes a more cohesive looking display, I don't try and please everyone by offering every colour under the sun.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I try to keep to five glazes in my own practice. In recent years, it’s been 2 base glazes with different colourants in them, and that will get you a lot of possible variation to work with. If you try to have too many glazes, it gets overwhelming fast. 

10-12 glazes is a roster you’d expect to see in a group studio or some other teaching environment, and it gets complicated to find that many that will work together well, without any of them being a PITA.

[Hulk]

Liner glaze, translucent white.
Clear blue, variegated green, red, variegated blue ...uhhm... teal blue.
Six!

There's scrap glaze, spills and wipe ups, wash offs, and such, it adds up after a while; when there were a couple gallons, I sieved and adjusted it.
It's gray-blue, light gloss.
The seven colors exhibit a range, depending on the clay, firing, and whatever may be fuming nearby in the kiln.

I use seven underglaze colors, all Speedball.
Some yellow would be nice, maybe via adding stain to the liner glaze.

This year I want to get Faux Celedon (Selsor's) back in the mix...

Down the line I expect to simplify. Each recipe is unique.
I'll typically use three or four colors in a glaze load.

[neilestrick]

I use 3 versions of the same clear- one clear, one tinted light blue, one tinted light yellow. I do all my decorating with underglazes so that's all I need. I tell my students with home studios to find 3 glaze combos that they really like- each combo may be two or more layered glazes (or even  single glazes if that's your style)- just 3 combos that they like and that kind of go together in style, and then use them over and over and perfect applying them so they can be really successful with every glaze load. 3 options will  be plenty to offer to people when you start selling, and will be manageable for keeping  different forms in stock in all 3 combos. It may take 6, 7, or 8 separate glaze to create all 3 combos, and that's manageable. Trying to maintain a dozen glazes in a home studio can get pretty crowded. Once you've perfect those 3, you can start testing other combos so that you can retire combos every few years and keep your offerings fresh.

[Jeff Longtin]

There is one "unexpected" when you have multiple glazes sitting around: you find out some glazes, sit well, over time, and some do not. You presume all glazes will be the same, one year later, but you find out, the hard way, that is not always true.  Of course, the glaze will probably be thicker and need to be thinned, because you think it's just a water issue, then you glaze a pot and find out the glaze has changed. (Not so much color wise but ease-of-application wise.) 

Different glaze ingredients absorb water at different rates. A good glaze is one in which the materials absorb water in a uniform way such that the glaze is consistent over time. A bad glaze is one in which one ingredient absorbs water differently and causes the glaze to change over time. Allowing a glaze to sit, over time, is really the only way to know for sure which type of glaze you have. 

Some glazes don't sit well, over time, but they have an appearance that customers like. In those cases its best to simply make a new batch when a customer orders it. (It's just a question of whether the order is large enough to justify the expense?) "Waterfall Green/brown" is one such glaze. Beautiful color but application/firing issues seem common.

Another factor that can play into your decision is your customers preferences and your firing method. Most folks who are glaze firing electric desire to have uniform color results firing to firing. Most folks who are glaze firing gas, natural or propane, expect/desire variation from firing to firing so glazes that change are not altogether a bad thing.

[Pres]

I also use about 5 glazes. These are glazes I had in the HS studio where I had learned which glazes played well with others. One of the advantages of teaching in a HS studio was that the students always wanted this color or that, never happy with just 5. We had I think around 20 -30 glazes. Some in small containers (qt) some in 5 gallon buckets. I make all of mine up in 5 gallon buckets as I use them for dipping and layering with spraying. I figure larger amount is OK, as they do not pancake and when Spring comes I mix what is in the buckets and double strain through an 80 mesh screen. Periodically I screen to remove any bisque or other residue.

best,

Pres

[Denice]

My work doesn't require large amounts on one glaze,  I make up a gallon batch.  I have been making murals that have a lot of different color and texture glaze.   I keep my clay in 5 gal buckets and roll them around on casters.   I bought a bunch of them at Menard's lumber store last spring, only $3.00 each on sale.   I am really impressed with the casters,  heavy duty and handles a full bucket of clay easily.  When my husbands runs out of  automotive casters in his garage he steals some of  mine.   If you have a Menard's in your area check the spring sales.     Denice

[Morgan]

Way too many