Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The other thing this method of glazing has led to, is an “easier” way of recycling and reusing it. In the past, during college or my apprenticeships, glaze that was scraped off of a pot or that came off on the workbench was never saved, instead it was sponged away as waste. Nowadays, as I have my own workshop and my own set of glazes, I can be far more diligent and work in a manner that allows me to save the glaze that’s removed.
I always begin with this glaze, the white, as hereafter, it doesn’t matter if I contaminate it with the one and two percent variants as they aren’t affected by additions of red iron oxide, whereas the white is, (it’s the RIO that creates the pale and dark green tones). Thus, I give the worktop a VERY thorough clean, this way, after I’ve finishing all of the glazing with this white, I can scrape up anything leftover on the workbench in order to save it and then, later in the glazing process, any material that’s fettled or sponged off can also be recovered. I also have a set of sponges that I only ever use with this white glaze, as once one has been spoilt with RIO it’s almost impossible to fully clean it.
Each year this allows me to save around 3-4 kgs of glaze, which adds up over time. This sludge can then be sieved back into the larger buckets of glaze the pieces are dipped into, this removes wax, fragments of bisque-where and any other detritus that finds its way into my glaze reclaim basins, one of each I have for each particular glaze.
It might sound like a lot of extra work but it isn’t and I feel much better for doing it as compared to running the reclaim into my clay trap.
#pottery #glaze #glazing #vase
The other thing this method of glazing has led to, is an “easier” way of recycling and reusing it. In the past, during college or my apprenticeships, glaze that was scraped off of a pot or that came off on the workbench was never saved, instead it was sponged away as waste. Nowadays, as I have my own workshop and my own set of glazes, I can be far more diligent and work in a manner that allows me to save the glaze that’s removed.
I always begin with this glaze, the white, as hereafter, it doesn’t matter if I contaminate it with the one and two percent variants as they aren’t affected by additions of red iron oxide, whereas the white is, (it’s the RIO that creates the pale and dark green tones). Thus, I give the worktop a VERY thorough clean, this way, after I’ve finishing all of the glazing with this white, I can scrape up anything leftover on the workbench in order to save it and then, later in the glazing process, any material that’s fettled or sponged off can also be recovered. I also have a set of sponges that I only ever use with this white glaze, as once one has been spoilt with RIO it’s almost impossible to fully clean it.
Each year this allows me to save around 3-4 kgs of glaze, which adds up over time. This sludge can then be sieved back into the larger buckets of glaze the pieces are dipped into, this removes wax, fragments of bisque-where and any other detritus that finds its way into my glaze reclaim basins, one of each I have for each particular glaze.
It might sound like a lot of extra work but it isn’t and I feel much better for doing it as compared to running the reclaim into my clay trap.
#pottery #glaze #glazing #vase
