Hobbyists who love to work with pottery may find that making clay pottery glazes at home is a great way to alter the appearance of each piece of art. Each glaze is essentially a glass finish (made primarily of silica) that can alter the texture, shine, and durability of each item--which means that trying different homemade recipes can yield new and exciting artistic finishes to your next sculpture.

Making your own pottery glaze is serious business though, since it involves working with several potent and dangerous (sometimes poisonous) chemicals. If you choose to try your hand at homemade glaze, it is crucial to take lots of safety precautions, including wearing a face mask and preparing the mix in an area with plenty of ventilation.http://www.pottery-magic.com/pottery/glazes/recipes/mix_glaze.htm

Several recipes for clay pottery glaze can be found online or in books, and the chemicals can usually be ordered online. Local shops that specialize in pottery materials may also sell different ingredients. There will be some basic components of each recipe: Some flux to help melt the glaze (such as potassium oxide or sodium oxide), some colorant (such as cobalt oxide), some stabilizer (such as aluminum oxide), perhaps a bit of opacifier to make the glaze less transparent (such as stannous oxide), and the main ingredient--glass former (silicon dioxide).http://www.duncanshearer.co.nz/glaze/glazechemistry.html It is always important to follow recipes precisely not only so that the flux, glass former, and other ingredients blend properly, but also for your own personal safety.

When looking in books or online for a good glaze recipe, there are important factors to consider, aside from the texture and color that will come from a recipe. You also need to be aware of what medium you will be working with and what type of firing you will be doing.

First, since you are working with clay, you will want to determine if you're working with low-, medium-, or high-fire clays. Glaze recipes will specify what type of clay should clay it should be used with. Plus, you need to know what cone level you are firing at to determine the right recipe.

Here are the materials you will need in addition to the glaze ingredients. These should be gathered and set up in advance to minimize safety hazards.

• Recipe
• 2 buckets
• Scale
• Sieve
• Mixer
• Mask
• Gloveshttp://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/makingglaze.htm

Put on all safety equipment, including mask and gloves, and begin measuring out the recipe ingredients using the scale. Mix them together in one of the buckets, and once they are mixed together water should be added until the correct thickness has been achieved.

Now allow the glaze mix overnight so that moisture can penetrate the glaze thoroughly. After it's had time to sit, the sieving process can begin. The glaze mixture should be sieved three times to remove lumps. Once sieved, the glaze is ready to be used.http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/makingglaze.htm