This two-day workshop will give you the skills to harness the variables of glaze chemistry and modify a glaze’s colour, texture, surface finish and firing temperature. In a nutshell, this course is about reading your results and manipulating recipes with confidence.

Through a mixture of theory and practical work, the course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and techniques to:

• Modify a glaze recipe to be glossy or matt;

• Identify the behaviour of raw materials and how fluxes impact the colour of additives;

• Identify the factors responsible for changes in glaze results;

• Competently use glaze calculators, Stull maps and unity molecular formula;

• Alter a glaze’s firing temperature; and

• Practise good health and safety with glaze-making and kiln care.

You’ll work with stoneware and porcelain test tiles, conducting practical tests and using digital tools to expand your foundational understanding of glaze chemistry. The course also introduces methods for documenting and recording your glaze tests to support your ongoing development.

The workshop will focus on the development of stoneware glazes. Please bring a dust mask and suitable weighing scales. Further details will be sent ahead of the course.

Class size is limited to 8-10 to ensure a productive group dynamic and plenty of individual support.

Level: This course is suitable for potters and ceramic artists who have taken Glazing: Fundamental Skills or an equivalent, or who have a basic understanding of glaze chemistry and can make glazes from raw ingredients. Participants should also familiarise themselves with using the online glaze platform Glazy.

Duration: Saturday 8th & Saturday 15th November 10.30am – 4.30pm each day

Includes: Stoneware and porcelain tiles, glaze materials, firings, tea and coffee (herbal and dairy-free alternatives available).

Participants must be aged 18 and over.

Tutor: Chloe Monks

Chloe Monks is a ceramic artist based in Bristol. Chloe studied Ceramics at Cardiff School of Art and Design before completing an MA in Ceramics & Glass at the Royal College of Art in 2020, supported by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST). Her practice is deeply rooted in material experimentation, with a particular focus on the fluidity and movement of glaze.

Chloe has exhibited both nationally and internationally, including as a Fresh exhibitor at the British Ceramics Biennale, at The Design Museum in The Power of Material: From Virtual to Physical, and at Collect at Somerset House. She has undertaken residencies in India, Jingdezhen, and Cill Rialaig, and currently works across education settings - from schools and universities to private studios - sharing her knowledge and passion for experimental ceramics.

+Please wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty+

+ Students will be required to provide their own dust mask and scales weighing to 0.01gm+

Participants must be aged 18 years and over

Terms and Conditions.