1 of 9
Potter's Choice
The reduction look without a gas kiln. Reactive, layered surfaces that break and pool over texture.
46glazes
39Purple
3Black
4Dan only
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 46 Potter's Choice glazesAmaco
Since 1919/Indianapolis, Indiana
Amaco has been making glazes, clay and kilns in Indianapolis since 1919. They built the first electric kiln for school and studio use, made the first lead free ceramic glazes, and released the Potter's Choice line in 2004. More of our glaze shelf comes from Amaco than from any other maker.
180glazes on our shelves
9families
24studio favorites
Search results
Results
Amaco by membership level
Every Amaco glaze we stock, sorted by the level that covers it.
71Purple Level
94Black Level
9Kept for Dan, buy your own
75good on texture
The 9 Amaco families we carry
Potter's Choice 46Celadon 33Satin Matte 18Shinos 12Kiln Ice 6Cosmos 5Phase 4Raku 6Velvet Underglaze 50
2 of 9
Celadon
Transparent gloss colors that pool dark in carving and thin to almost nothing on the ridges. All 33 mix with each other.
33glazes
2Purple
31Black
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 33 Celadon glazes
3 of 9
Satin Matte
Solid colors with a soft low sheen. The line to reach for when the form is the point and the glaze should stay quiet.
18glazes
18Purple
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 18 Satin Matte glazes
4 of 9
Shinos
Iron rich colors doing the heavy reduction look in an electric kiln. Six colors, each in a gloss and a matte.
12glazes
12Purple
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 12 Shinos glazes
5 of 9
Kiln Ice
Crackle glazes modeled on Guan ware. The network of fine cracks is the product, not a fault.
6glazes
6Black
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 6 Kiln Ice glazes
6 of 9
Cosmos
Crystalline surfaces without a special firing schedule. Highly fluid, so they need room above the foot.
5glazes
5Dan only
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 5 Cosmos glazes
7 of 9
Phase
Built to go over other glazes. Each one carries a visual texture that shows up where it goes on thick.
4glazes
4Black
Cone 5 to cone 6, over cone 04 bisque
See all 4 Phase glazes
8 of 9
Raku
Discontinued by Amaco and not in circulation. Kept on record because the chemistry is the same one our raku firings run on.
6glazes
Cone 05, over cone 04 bisque
See all 6 Raku glazes
9 of 9
Velvet Underglaze
Fifty seven colors for drawing, not for coloring. Sgraffito, illustration and line work, applied to raw clay before the first firing.
50underglazes
50Black
Cone 05 to cone 10, over cone 04 bisque
See all 50 Velvet Underglaze underglazesAbout Amaco
Amaco is the American Art Clay Company, founded in Indianapolis in 1919 by Ted O. Philpott. Philpott was a pharmacist who started the company on the side making colored modeling clay for children, and eventually sold the pharmacy to do it full time. He ran the company for 47 years, until his death in 1966.
The first year brought in four thousand dollars. The second brought six. What turned it into a real business was Permoplast, a modeling clay that arrived so unfamiliar to teachers that Amaco had to publish a manual in 1921 explaining what to do with it. That manual is the beginning of the educational side of the company, which is still most of what they do.
Amaco says it was the first company to commercially manufacture ceramic and non-ceramic clays, lead-free glazes, electric kilns and potter's wheels. They were a founding member of the Arts and Creative Materials Institute, the body that set the first safety standards for children's art materials in 1936.
They are still in Indianapolis, still family owned, now in the fourth generation. In 2004 they moved to a fourteen acre site with fifty percent more room, a move that took roughly 120 trailers. They also own Brent, which makes the wheels a lot of studios learn on.
Fast facts
Founded1919, in Indianapolis
FounderTed O. Philpott, a pharmacist who sold the pharmacy
Still thereIndianapolis, fourth generation, family owned
Also makesBrent pottery wheels
First productColored modeling clay for children
SafetyFounding member of the Arts and Creative Materials Institute, 1936
About these images and what your pot will actually look like
We have done our best to represent every glaze here accurately, and you should still expect your pot to look different from what is on this screen.
Our glaze tile images are digitally created. They are built to show the character of a glaze, not to be a color match.
A screen is not a printout, a printout is not a test tile, and a test tile is not a finished pot. Each step in that chain shifts what a glaze looks like, sometimes a lot.
On top of that, the pottery itself changes the result: the clay body, how thick the glaze went on, whether it was brushed, dipped or sprayed, what was layered under or over it, where the piece sat in the kiln, how hot that spot ran, how fast it cooled, what was fired next to it, and how much texture the surface had. Two pots glazed from the same jar on the same day can come out different.
Treat every image here as a starting point, and treat a test tile fired on your own clay as the real answer.