How I Glaze a Tall Vase

Video Description

Here’s why I glaze the outside first and dip the vessel in two parts. Th first thing to realise is that not all glazes are the same. This specific white crackle glaze doesn’t contain much clay and dries in a fragile layer, this means it’s tremendously easy to chip, scrape away or damage. Thus, if I were to glaze the inside first, (then wait a day for the glaze to dry), then dunk the outside, there’s a high change that the pressure needed to submerge the vessel would cause the interior glaze to be damaged, chipped or grazed, especially so with more complex, angular forms. Yet, if I do the outside first there’s no risk of damaging the glaze on the inside, as it’s just the bisque fired clay, then, more glaze can simply be poured inside, swirled around and tipped out. I’m much more confident about handling the glazed exterior without damaging it, as I can cradle it much more gently and mistakes on the outside and easier to fix than those on the inside, (especially with a shape as narrow as this). If your glazes dry in harder layers then by all means do it the other way around, but for me, this is what works. Now, the second question is: “Why don’t you just glaze it in one go?”. There’s a lot to unpack here and again it’s very glaze dependant. This crackle glaze needs to go on thickly, so, if I were to dunk the entire piece using a pair of tongs, I’d have fully submerge it and then draw it out in such a way that the excess glaze pours out from the inside without flowing back over the exterior walls and adding to the glazes thickness, (which would require a lot more tidying up—this glaze also settles quickly on the surface of pots), that’s tricky, not only that, but due to the size of my buckets, I’d have to draw it out and allow the excess to drain quickly, as I can’t flip the vessel to the side for it to drain without all that extra weight baring down on the tongs. Too much weight on the tongs can cause the walls of the vase to break and it can make pouring out the glaze an extremely awkward manoeuvre. So, what’s easier? Well, taking it slower and glazing it in two manoeuvres. I can achieve smoother, more even surfaces that require less tidying up. #glaze #glazing #pottery #vase #handmade #ceramics #satisfying #asmr