Sara Baker Stoneware
Glazes for Functional Pots

The following are the glazes I use on my functional pots. Most of the glazes are combinations—two or three glazes applied in succession by dipping, pouring, or spraying. These combinations give the finished pot a subtlety and richness that could not be achieved with one simple glaze.

		Purple and Black Combination On these pots I dip the entire piece in an iron-rich glaze (Ohata) and follow that with a shiny black glaze called Tenmoku. This produces an exceptionally rich color of great depth which varies from dark brown to black with occasional hints of green. Around the top of the pot I dip or pour a copper red; this glaze usually runs a little, creating an undulating line where it meets the underlying black. The copper red actually ranges from deep burgundy red through bright magenta to dark purple, sometimes with blue highlights. In a particularly hot firing, if it runs enough to thin out at the pot's rim, this glaze tends toward greens and browns.
		Purple and Speckly Gray Combination First I apply the copper red glaze to portions to the pot. Then I cover the remaining areas of the pot with a matte-black glaze. A shiny white glaze goes over the black. The interaction of the black and white glazes can vary in color from greenish-blue to bluish-white with black speckles of varying size and frequency. The copper red glaze varies from a dark burgundy to magenta to purple.
		Peacock and White Combination The whole pot gets dipped into the dark greenish blue shiny glaze and then I spray a haze of white glaze around the top.
		Shino This dipped or poured on glaze has a satiny finish and lots of variation from piece to piece and firing to firing: its color can run from a light peach through gold to a deep orange, sometimes all on one pot.

Please note—Dimensions listed are to the nearest inch. Pots are individual works and vary slightly in size and shape. Glaze color, pattern, and texture vary between pots and firings, giving handmade pots their individual character. Greater, though not complete, consistency can be achieved in a custom-ordered group of pots made at the same time. Colors shown are subject to distortion because of monitor & browser settings.

return to functional pots