Layering Glazes

One glaze over another, and a surface neither jar could make alone. Twenty-five pairings worth firing, and the craft that makes them work.

Pairings
25
Jars involved
50
Layering Glazes at The Clay Hole

Layering is how a shelf of single colors becomes a shelf of surfaces. One glaze goes on the pot, a second goes over it, and what comes out of the kiln is a thing neither jar could make on its own: two colors in one skin, separating where the pot rises and pooling where it falls.

It works because glazes are not paint. A reactive or floating glaze moves as it melts, thinning over every raised edge and gathering in every hollow, and wherever it thins the glaze beneath it shows through. That is the whole mechanism. You are not mixing two colors, you are letting one open up over the other.

Which is why order is not a detail. The glaze built to move has to be the one on top. Swap the pair and the moving glaze has nothing to move across, and you get a flat, muddled version of both. Every pairing below is written in the order it should be applied, and the tile on the left is the one that goes on the pot first.

What follows is twenty-five pairings we know are worth firing, with the craft that makes them work spaced between them. Read the tips even if you only came for the pictures. They are the difference between a layer that looks intentional and one that looks like an accident.

25 pairings worth knowing

Two glazes, one over the other. The tile on the left goes on first, the tile in the middle goes over it, and the square on the right is what comes out. Let the first coat dry completely before the second goes on.

Fired test tile of Eggplant, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Eggplant goes on first
Fired test tile of Blue Hydrangea, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Blue Hydrangea goes over the top

Blue Hydrangea over Eggplant. Mayco Various Families under Mayco Various Families.

Fired test tile of Kimchi, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Kimchi goes on first
Fired test tile of Sunrise, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Sunrise goes over the top

Sunrise over Kimchi. Spectrum Floating under Spectrum Floating. Spectrum's Floating series is made to float over another glaze, which is exactly what it is doing here.

Fired test tile of Tidal Wave, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Tidal Wave goes on first
Fired test tile of Himalayan Salt, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Himalayan Salt goes over the top

Himalayan Salt over Tidal Wave. One of 2 pairings built on Tidal Wave, so you can see how one base changes under different tops.

Fired test tile of Blue Rutile, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Blue Rutile goes on first
Fired test tile of Lustrous Jade, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Lustrous Jade goes over the top

Lustrous Jade over Blue Rutile. One of 2 pairings that put Lustrous Jade over a different ground.

Fired test tile of Leather, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟨 Leather goes on first
Fired test tile of Green Tea, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Green Tea goes over the top

Green Tea over Leather. One of 2 pairings that put Green Tea over a different ground. Leather is Yellow Level and Green Tea is Purple Level, so check both are open to you.

Fired test tile of Shallot, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Shallot goes on first
Fired test tile of Autumn Purple, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Autumn Purple goes over the top

Autumn Purple over Shallot. Spectrum Floating under Spectrum Floating. Spectrum's Floating series is made to float over another glaze, which is exactly what it is doing here.

Fired test tile of Blue Rutile, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Blue Rutile goes on first
Fired test tile of Palladium, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Palladium goes over the top

Palladium over Blue Rutile. One of 2 pairings built on Blue Rutile, so you can see how one base changes under different tops.

Fired test tile of Black, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟩 Black goes on first
Fired test tile of Dragon Stone, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing ⬛ Dragon Stone goes over the top

Dragon Stone over Black. One of 2 pairings built on Black, so you can see how one base changes under different tops. Black is Green Level and Dragon Stone is Black Level, so check both are open to you.

Fired test tile of Jade, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing ⬛ Jade goes on first
Fired test tile of Enchanted Forest, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Enchanted Forest goes over the top

Enchanted Forest over Jade. Amaco under Mayco, which is worth knowing works. Jade is Black Level and Enchanted Forest is Purple Level, so check both are open to you.

Fired test tile of Blue Tigers Eye, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing ⬛ Blue Tigers Eye goes on first
Fired test tile of Tiger’s Eye, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Tiger’s Eye goes over the top

Tiger’s Eye over Blue Tigers Eye. Speedball under Spectrum, which is worth knowing works. Spectrum's Floating series is made to float over another glaze, which is exactly what it is doing here.

Fired test tile of Tidal Wave, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Tidal Wave goes on first
Fired test tile of Green Tea, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Green Tea goes over the top

Green Tea over Tidal Wave. One of 2 pairings that put Green Tea over a different ground.

Fired test tile of Black, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟩 Black goes on first
Fired test tile of Blue Shino, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing ⬛ Blue Shino goes over the top

Blue Shino over Black. One of 2 pairings built on Black, so you can see how one base changes under different tops. Coyote builds its shinos to sit over a gloss, so this is the pairing the family was designed for.

Fired test tile of Rainforest, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing ⬛ Rainforest goes on first
Fired test tile of Snow, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Snow goes over the top

Snow over Rainforest. Amaco Celadon under Amaco Celadon. Rainforest is Black Level and Snow is Purple Level, so check both are open to you.

Fired test tile of Storm, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing ⬛ Storm goes on first
Fired test tile of Variegated Lapis, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing ⬛ Variegated Lapis goes over the top

Variegated Lapis over Storm. Amaco under Speedball, which is worth knowing works.

Fired test tile of Dark Green, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Dark Green goes on first
Fired test tile of Vert Lustre, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Vert Lustre goes over the top

Vert Lustre over Dark Green. Amaco Potter's Choice under Amaco Potter's Choice.

Fired test tile of Aqua, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing ⬛ Aqua goes on first
Fired test tile of Lustrous Jade, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Lustrous Jade goes over the top

Lustrous Jade over Aqua. One of 2 pairings that put Lustrous Jade over a different ground. Aqua is Black Level and Lustrous Jade is Purple Level, so check both are open to you.

Fired test tile of Sangria, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Sangria goes on first
Fired test tile of Kimchi, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Kimchi goes over the top

Kimchi over Sangria. Spectrum Floating under Spectrum Floating. Spectrum's Floating series is made to float over another glaze, which is exactly what it is doing here.

Fired test tile of Birch, the glaze that goes on first in this pairing 🟪 Birch goes on first
Fired test tile of Muddy Waters, the glaze that goes over the top in this pairing 🟪 Muddy Waters goes over the top

Muddy Waters over Birch. Mayco Various Families under Mayco Various Families.

Common questions

Which glaze goes on first?

The one that stays put. The glaze built to move, a float, a reactive or a shino, goes on top, because it needs something underneath to open up over.

How many coats?

Two underneath and three over is the usual starting point. Change one variable at a time from there and keep a note of what you did.

How long between coats?

Until the first glaze has gone chalky all over and lost its sheen. Rushing this lifts the first coat off the pot.

Will a layered pot run?

More than either glaze alone, because there is more glaze on it. Keep a quarter inch of bare clay above the foot and use a cookie.

Can I layer any two glazes?

You can try, and most results are dull rather than disastrous. The pairings here are the ones worth the firing.

Are layered glazes food safe?

Treat the combination as unproven even when both glazes are rated separately, and use a liner on any surface that touches food.

Why does mine look nothing like the example?

Thickness, almost every time. Compare your coats to the tip above rather than blaming the pairing.

Do I need to test first?

On anything you care about, yes. A stepped vertical test tile answers the question in one firing.

Layering is the part of glazing where a decision you make in ten seconds, where to stop the second glaze, shows up permanently in the finished pot. That is worth practising on a tile first and worth getting right.

Also worth a look

Good for TextureThe glazes that show your carving instead of filling it in. Studio FavoritesThe glazes we keep coming back to, chosen on behavior rather than looks. Metallic GlazesMetal rather than glass. Spectacular when they land, and the least forgiving glazes we stock.
Back to the Glaze Bible
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.

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