Studio Favorites

The glazes we keep coming back to. Not the bestsellers, not the prettiest jars, just the ones that keep earning it.

Glazes
81
Makers
5
Chosen by
Members and staff
Studio Favorites at The Clay Hole

Every glaze on this page is marked a studio favorite in our own records, and the standard for that mark is narrow. It has to be forgiving enough that a member gets a good result without a rehearsal, interesting enough to be worth choosing over a flat color, and consistent enough that the test tile and the finished pot look like the same glaze.

Membership level is no longer the story here, because that has a page of its own now. What is left is the shorter question: of everything we stock, which ones do we actually reach for.

Plenty of glazes we love are not on this list. Some are gorgeous and unpredictable, some only work in one situation, and some need a conversation before anyone uses them. Those are worth using; this list is just the shorter road.

Where to start

81 is a lot to look at. If you want three, these are the three.

1

Ancient Jasper

Amaco Potter's Choice

If someone asks for one glaze that will make their first real pot look like they knew what they were doing, this is the answer.

2

Glacier

Amaco Celadon

The favorite that rewards patience. Carve something, glaze it in this, and the glaze finds the work you did.

3

Black

Coyote Gloss

Unglamorous and on this list for a reason. A reliable black under or beside anything else makes the rest of the pot look deliberate.

Every one we stock

Grouped by maker.

Amaco

24

The deepest bench here, and most of it is Potter's Choice and the celadons, both built around breaking over a carved surface.

Amaco Celadon Glacier glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Glacier at The Clay Hole
Glacier

AmacoCeladon

⬛ Black Level

Tile #25

Good on texture Studio favorite

This 100% mixable celadon glaze is a pale transparent blue-green that pools and accents textured ware like the ancient glazes it is created to imitate.

Amaco Celadon Jade glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Jade at The Clay Hole
Jade

AmacoCeladon

⬛ Black Level

Tile #21

Good on texture Studio favorite

This 100% mixable celadon glaze is a cool, glossy emerald green that pools and accents textured ware like the ancient glaze it is created to imitate.

Amaco Celadon Mulberry glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Mulberry at The Clay Hole
Mulberry

AmacoCeladon

⬛ Black Level

Tile #12

Good on texture Studio favorite

This 100% mixable Celadon glaze is a deep, glossy purple that pools and accents textured ware like the ancient glazes it was created to imitate.

Amaco Celadon Obsidian glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Obsidian at The Clay Hole
Obsidian

AmacoCeladon

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #1

Studio favorite

This 100% mixable celadon glaze is a deep, opaque black that pools and accents textured ware like the ancient glazes it is created to imitate.

Amaco Celadon Saguaro glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Saguaro at The Clay Hole
Saguaro

AmacoCeladon

⬛ Black Level

Tile #31

Good on texture Studio favorite

This 100% mixable celadon glaze is a translucent pale soft green like a tall cactus.

Amaco Celadon Sky glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Sky at The Clay Hole
Sky

AmacoCeladon

⬛ Black Level

Tile #7

Good on texture Studio favorite

This 100% mixable celadon glaze is a lively, glossy sky blue that pools and accents textured ware like the ancient glazes it was created to imitate.

Amaco Celadon Storm glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Celadon Storm at The Clay Hole
Storm

AmacoCeladon

⬛ Black Level

Tile #18

Good on texture Studio favorite

This 100% mixable celadon glaze is a deep, glossy navy that pools and accents textured ware like the ancient glazes it was created to imitate.

Amaco Cosmos Solar Flare glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Cosmos Solar Flare at The Clay Hole
Solar Flare

AmacoCosmos

🟧 Owner Only

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

Solar Flare is a highly fluid light brown glaze with an iridescent crystalline surface.

Amaco Kiln Ice Glacial Lake glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Kiln Ice Glacial Lake at The Clay Hole
Glacial Lake

AmacoKiln Ice

⬛ Black Level

Tile #4

Studio favorite

A vibrant blue-green, and the strongest color Amaco put in this line. The crackle network reads clearly through it rather than being swallowed by the color.

Amaco Potter's Choice Ancient Copper glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Ancient Copper at The Clay Hole
Ancient Copper

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #11

Studio favorite

An iron red with a metallic shimmer over it. The color is deliberately unstable across a single surface, and that is the point: it goes dark brown wherever it thins over a raised edge, and it pools a deep yellow-green wherever it gathers in a recess. Flat open areas hold the copper. The overall read is a metal object that has been buried for a while and dug back up.

Amaco Potter's Choice Blue Rutile glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Blue Rutile at The Clay Hole
Blue Rutile

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #17

Good on texture Studio favorite

Amaco calls it one of the best sellers in the line, and the reason is that it never does the same thing twice. Thick, it is a flowing light blue. Thin, it breaks brown. Between those two states it stays busy: streaking, pulling, and following whatever the form gives it.

Amaco Potter's Choice Cosmic Tea Dust glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Cosmic Tea Dust at The Clay Hole
Cosmic Tea Dust

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #43

Studio favorite

A sparkling dark brown that breaks light yellow-brown over texture. The sparkle is the unusual part: it shifts between silver and copper depending on the angle, which gives the whole surface an iridescent quality rather than a fixed color.

Amaco Potter's Choice Deep Olive Speckle glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Deep Olive Speckle at The Clay Hole
Deep Olive Speckle

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #36

Good on texture Studio favorite

A rich translucent green with darker green speckles suspended in it. The gloss and the translucency together mean the clay body underneath still contributes, so the same jar looks different on white stoneware than on a darker clay.

Amaco Potter's Choice Indigo Float glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Indigo Float at The Clay Hole
Indigo Float

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #16

Good on texture Studio favorite

An intense cobalt blue with a lighter blue floating on the surface of it, which gives the glaze visible depth: one blue sitting on top of another rather than a single flat color.

Amaco Potter's Choice Iron Lustre glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Iron Lustre at The Clay Hole
Iron Lustre

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #12

Good on texture Studio favorite

Brown where it is thin, with blue-gray floats coming up where it is thick. Amaco describes it as a more restrained relative of a straightforward blue glaze, and restrained is the right word: the blue is present but it never takes over.

Amaco Potter's Choice Light Sepia glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Light Sepia at The Clay Hole
Light Sepia

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #9

Good on texture Studio favorite

An opalescent gray that changes noticeably across a textured surface. Opalescent is the right word rather than opaque: there is a milky depth to it that shifts with the light.

Amaco Potter's Choice Oatmeal glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Oatmeal at The Clay Hole
Oatmeal

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #41

Good on texture Studio favorite

A toasty light beige, relatively translucent, breaking clear over texture. On its own it is a quiet, useful neutral that lets the clay body show through.

Amaco Potter's Choice Palladium glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Palladium at The Clay Hole
Palladium

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #29

Studio favorite

A metallic glaze that fires to a mirror. Not a shimmer or a sheen, an actual reflective surface, which is rare in mid-fire and is the reason this glaze exists.

Amaco Potter's Choice Seaweed glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Seaweed at The Clay Hole
Seaweed

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #24

Studio favorite

A deep green that breaks brownish over texture and becomes more fluid as it gets thicker. That last part matters: this glaze does not just look different when applied heavily, it behaves differently.

Amaco Potter's Choice Smokey Merlot glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Smokey Merlot at The Clay Hole
Smokey Merlot

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #30

Studio favorite

A warm dark purple with a soft lilac float drifting over the surface. Purple is a difficult color in mid-fire, and this one gets there without going pastel or turning brown.

Amaco Potter's Choice Textured Turquoise glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Textured Turquoise at The Clay Hole
Textured Turquoise

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #23

Good on texture Studio favorite

A subtle turquoise gloss that reads green-beige where it is thin and a real aqua where it is thick. The two states are far enough apart that a single pot with relief shows both clearly.

Amaco Potter's Choice Toasted Sage glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Potter's Choice Toasted Sage at The Clay Hole
Toasted Sage

AmacoPotter's Choice

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #10

Studio favorite

An opaque warm gray carrying subtle frothy tones of pink and green. On paper it sounds unremarkable. On the pot it is not: the pink and green surface within the gray keep it from reading as flat.

Amaco Satin Matte Marble glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Satin Matte Marble at The Clay Hole
Marble

AmacoSatin Matte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #16

Good on texture Studio favorite

SM-3 Marble is a pale gray satin glaze, just a whisper of color like the polished marble it's inspired by.  Glaze fire to Cone 5-6.

Amaco Satin Matte Stone glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Amaco Satin Matte Stone at The Clay Hole
Stone

AmacoSatin Matte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #18

Good on texture Studio favorite

SM-2 Stone is a  dark taupe satin glaze, smooth as a weathered rock.  Glaze fire to Cone 5-6.

Swipe or use the arrows, 24 in this row

Coyote

29

The most dependable jars we own. Coyote's Gloss range in particular is what everything else gets layered over.

Coyote Archie's Eggplant glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Archie's Eggplant at The Clay Hole
Eggplant

CoyoteArchie's

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #1

Studio favorite

One of our most varied and exciting glazes, Eggplant breaks from matt purple to glossy green, and develops intense blue crystals when it cools slowly. It can get runny, especially when extra thick or hot.

Coyote Archie's Opal glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Archie's Opal at The Clay Hole
Opal

CoyoteArchie's

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

Possibly our runniest glaze, but also one of our most beautiful. Opal is a brilliant pearlescent blue that varies from translucent where thin to mottled where thick.

Coyote Aqua Celadon glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Aqua Celadon at The Clay Hole
Aqua Celadon

CoyoteCeladon

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

A gentle, translucent blue-green color, similar to a traditional celadon. Easy to apply and reliable. Frank's Colored Celadons are a beautiful series of translucent glazes. They do not run and look great on their own or combined with other glazes.

Coyote Iris Celadon glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Iris Celadon at The Clay Hole
Iris Celadon

CoyoteCeladon

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #14

Good on texture Studio favorite

A translucent purple. Frank's Colored Celadons are a beautiful series of translucent glazes. They do not run and look great on their own or combined with other glazes.

Coyote Jade Celadon glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Jade Celadon at The Clay Hole
Jade Celadon

CoyoteCeladon

🟩 Green Level

Tile #10

Studio favorite

A translucent deep green. Frank's Colored Celadons are a beautiful series of translucent glazes. They do not run and look great on their own or combined with other glazes.

Coyote Midnight Rain Celadon glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Midnight Rain Celadon at The Clay Hole
Midnight Rain Celadon

CoyoteCeladon

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #18

Good on texture Studio favorite

A translucent deep blue. Frank's Colored Celadons are a beautiful series of translucent glazes. They do not run and look great on their own or combined with other glazes.

Coyote Constellation Light Gold glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Constellation Light Gold at The Clay Hole
Light Gold

CoyoteConstellation

⬛ Black Level

No Tile

Studio favorite

A variegated glaze with brown, orange, blue, and golden tones. Developed as an alternative to Red Gold for people who have problems using that glaze.

Coyote Constellation Orion glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Constellation Orion at The Clay Hole
Orion

CoyoteConstellation

⬛ Black Level

Tile #4

Studio favorite

Coyote calls it the signature glaze of the Constellation series. Orion is a beautiful glaze that varies from brown where thin, to bronze, to blue where thickest. When slow cooled, it is shot through with golden crystals.

Coyote Copper & Iron Crazed Copper glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Copper & Iron Crazed Copper at The Clay Hole
Crazed Copper

CoyoteCopper & Iron

🟩 Green Level

Tile #2 · Discontinued

Studio favorite

Very similar to Copper Blue, but lighter in color and covered in fine crazing on most clays. A somewhat runny, translucent glaze that pools in textured areas. Fires red in reduction.

Coyote Copper & Iron Rust Brown glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Copper & Iron Rust Brown at The Clay Hole
Rust Brown

CoyoteCopper & Iron

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

A light brown glaze with a mottled, satin surface. Less breaking than the Shino glazes but with more variation than the Satins.

Coyote Enduro-Color Satin White Liner glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Enduro-Color Satin White Liner at The Clay Hole
Satin White Liner

CoyoteEnduro-Color

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #7

Good on texture Studio favorite

Perfect for the insides of dishes, Satin White Liner is specially designed to resist crazing, staining, and everything else.

Coyote Fantasy Fairy Rose glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Fantasy Fairy Rose at The Clay Hole
Fairy Rose

CoyoteFantasy

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #3

Studio favorite

A bright pink with delicate mottling, the intensity of Fairy Rose is mostly dependent on its thickness. Perfect for adding a bright accent to your work, Fairy Rose combines beautifully with other glazes.

Coyote Fantasy Sorcerer’s Stone glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Fantasy Sorcerer’s Stone at The Clay Hole
Sorcerer’s Stone

CoyoteFantasy

⬛ Black Level

Tile #4

Studio favorite

A mottled charcoal gray that looks excellent on dinnerware, Sorcerer's Stone is a consistent favorite at the Coyote studio. Depending on the clay it can vary from almost black to light gray, sometimes even breaking blue or brown on texture.

Coyote Gloss Almost Teal glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Almost Teal at The Clay Hole
Almost Teal

CoyoteGloss

🟩 Green Level

Tile #1

Good on texture Studio favorite

A deep blue with a smooth, glossy surface. Coyote calls it one of the most popular starting points for glaze combinations. Great for beginners and advanced potters alike.

Coyote Gloss Black glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Black at The Clay Hole
Black

CoyoteGloss

🟩 Green Level

Tile #2

Good on texture Studio favorite

A solid, opaque black with a smooth, glossy finish. Ideal for nearly any usage, on its own or combined with other glazes.

Coyote Gloss Clear Glaze glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Clear Glaze at The Clay Hole
Clear Glaze

CoyoteGloss

🟩 Green Level

Tile #6

Good on texture Studio favorite

The perfect cover for underglaze, Coyote Clear Glaze is zinc-free and can be used o ver pinks and reds without damaging them. With proper application and firing, it provides a totally clear glassy surface.

Coyote Gloss Eggshell glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Eggshell at The Clay Hole
Eggshell

CoyoteGloss

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #8

Good on texture Studio favorite

A stable and reliable glaze that is less bright than White, but has the same glossy finish. Great as a liner glaze for functional ware.

Coyote Gloss Light Blue glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Light Blue at The Clay Hole
Light Blue

CoyoteGloss

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #9

Good on texture Studio favorite

A glossy, translucent blue. T est all foodware to determine food safety.

Coyote Gloss Oatmeal glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Oatmeal at The Clay Hole
Oatmeal

CoyoteGloss

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #11

Good on texture Studio favorite

A glossy off-white flecked with dark brown specks. Has a smooth, glossy surface when fired.

Coyote Gloss Pansy Purple glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss Pansy Purple at The Clay Hole
Pansy Purple

CoyoteGloss

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #13

Studio favorite

A deep, dark, intense purple color, the "really purple" answer to our Really Red glaze. Provides a solid, unbreaking finish.

Coyote Gloss White glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Gloss White at The Clay Hole
White

CoyoteGloss

🟩 Green Level

Tile #16

Studio favorite

A glossy, bright white, with a smooth surface. Won't run, works great on its own or as a base for other glazes.

Coyote Mottled Fire Opal glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Mottled Fire Opal at The Clay Hole
Fire Opal

CoyoteMottled

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #5

Good on texture Studio favorite

A bright pink with a haze over it where the glaze goes thick. Coyote says it works on its own and combines well with both its Gloss and Archie's series.

Coyote Alabaster Satin glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Alabaster Satin at The Clay Hole
Alabaster Satin

CoyoteSatin

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #1

Good on texture Studio favorite

A smooth, not quite glossy white, Alabaster Satin is ideal as a liner glaze for functional ware. Try using it with underglaze like a majolica base.

Coyote Cerulean Satin glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Cerulean Satin at The Clay Hole
Cerulean Satin

CoyoteSatin

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #3

Studio favorite

A deep blue that absorbs the light and draws the eye. Cerulean Satin works great on its own, and looks even better under Bronze Temmoku or Archie's Base.

Coyote Charcoal Satin glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Charcoal Satin at The Clay Hole
Charcoal Satin

CoyoteSatin

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #4

Studio favorite

A great alternative to Black for potters looking for less shine on their finished work. A natural looking dark charcoal color that absorbs light.

Coyote Light Blue Shino glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Light Blue Shino at The Clay Hole
Light Blue Shino

CoyoteShinos

⬛ Black Level

Tile #7

Studio favorite

In its thickest spots, Light Blue Shino is a pale blue, but where thinner it breaks to brown.

Coyote Steel Gray Shino glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Steel Gray Shino at The Clay Hole
Steel Gray Shino

CoyoteShinos

⬛ Black Level

Tile #13

Studio favorite

A deep charcoal color that breaks black over texture. Can be glossy or satiny depending on the thickness and firing environment.

Coyote Vibro-Color Passion Red glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Coyote Vibro-Color Passion Red at The Clay Hole
Passion Red

CoyoteVibro-Color

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #2

Studio favorite

A strong crimson red, opaque and even. Reds this clean are rare at cone 5 and 6.

Swipe or use the arrows, 29 in this row

Mayco

15

Where most of the everyday color lives, and the range a member is most likely to find the exact shade they pictured.

Mayco Pink Matte glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Pink Matte at The Clay Hole
Pink Matte

MaycoMatte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #15

Good on texture Studio favorite

A dusty salmon pink matte, opaque and even. Muted rather than sweet.

Mayco Matte Rusted Iron glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Matte Rusted Iron at The Clay Hole
Rusted Iron

MaycoMatte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #7

Good on texture Studio favorite

A dark red-brown with a metallic cast and a mottled, corroded look. Sits at the glossier end of a matte line.

Mayco Matte Satina Patina glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Matte Satina Patina at The Clay Hole
Satina Patina

MaycoMatte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #16

Good on texture Studio favorite

A soft blue-green matte with a patina-like mottle through it. Mayco calls it Satin Patina.

Mayco Matte Storm Gray glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Matte Storm Gray at The Clay Hole
Storm Gray

MaycoMatte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #11

Good on texture Studio favorite

A light gray matte with cloudy mottling and white variegation. Mayco built three of this line, Weathered Blue, Storm Gray and Lemon Meringue, to change with coat count: one coat shows more color, extra coats increase the mottling and white variegation.

Mayco Matte Weathered Blue glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Matte Weathered Blue at The Clay Hole
Weathered Blue

MaycoMatte

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #8

Good on texture Studio favorite

A soft dusty blue matte with mottling and white variegation across it. Mayco built three of this line, Weathered Blue, Storm Gray and Lemon Meringue, to change with coat count: one coat shows more color, extra coats increase the mottling and white variegation.

Mayco Matte Wrought Iron glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Matte Wrought Iron at The Clay Hole
Wrought Iron

MaycoMatte

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #1

Good on texture Studio favorite

A near-black brown matte that breaks to a warm brown on the raised edges. Darker than Black Walnut, and the closest this line gets to black without being Black Matte.

Mayco Antique Brass glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Antique Brass at The Clay Hole
Antique Brass

MaycoVarious Families

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #1

Studio favorite

A dark olive brown with a metallic sheen. Reads like tarnished hardware rather than like a glaze.

Mayco Cenote glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Cenote at The Clay Hole
Cenote

MaycoVarious Families

🟪 Purple Level

No Tile

Studio favorite

A pale blue with rust and brown speckle breaking through it, like mineral staining on limestone.

Mayco Shipwreck glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Shipwreck at The Clay Hole
Shipwreck

MaycoVarious Families

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #6

Good on texture Studio favorite

A dark teal green with heavy rust and brown mottling over it, like something pulled out of the water.

Mayco Winter Wood glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Mayco Winter Wood at The Clay Hole
Winter Wood

MaycoVarious Families

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #2

Studio favorite

A warm white with brown speckle gathering unevenly across the surface, like bark on snow.

Swipe or use the arrows, 15 in this row

Spectrum

11

Reactive by design. Fewer favorites, but the ones that made it are the ones that behave.

Spectrum Floating Autumn Purple glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Floating Autumn Purple at The Clay Hole
Autumn Purple

SpectrumFloating

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

A dusty mauve sitting over a warmer ground, with coral breaking through on every raised edge. One of the clearest examples of what this series is named for.

Spectrum Floating Blue glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Floating Blue at The Clay Hole
Floating Blue

SpectrumFloating

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #10

Good on texture Studio favorite

The one the series is built around. Gray-green floats over blue with olive and smoky bronze pooling in the recesses, and it reads like two glazes layered when it is only one.

Spectrum Floating Ginger glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Floating Ginger at The Clay Hole
Ginger

SpectrumFloating

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #13

Good on texture Studio favorite

A warm red-brown with purple mottling through it, lifting lighter and more copper on the edges.

Spectrum Floating Morning Glory glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Floating Morning Glory at The Clay Hole
Morning Glory

SpectrumFloating

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #19

Good on texture Studio favorite

A soft cornflower blue with white clouding floating over it.

Spectrum Floating Pearl White glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Floating Pearl White at The Clay Hole
Pearl White

SpectrumFloating

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #1

Good on texture Studio favorite

A pale pink-cream with a pearl cast. The softest thing on this shelf and an easy background color.

Spectrum Floating Tapenade glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Floating Tapenade at The Clay Hole
Tapenade

SpectrumFloating

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #16

Good on texture Studio favorite

A near-black olive with green and gold breaking on the raised edges.

Spectrum Texture Burgundy glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Texture Burgundy at The Clay Hole
Texture Burgundy

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #5

Good on texture Studio favorite

A dusty plum with pink and gray mottling, softer than the name suggests.

Spectrum Texture Dark Cloud glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Texture Dark Cloud at The Clay Hole
Texture Dark Cloud

SpectrumTexture

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #14

Good on texture Studio favorite

A near-black blue-gray with streaking through it. The dark counterpart to Cloud Burst.

Spectrum Texture Honey glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Texture Honey at The Clay Hole
Texture Honey

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

A golden amber, warm and even. Spectrum lists a Texture Honey under two different numbers, so we have left the number off rather than guess which jar this is.

Spectrum Mirror glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in Spectrum Mirror at The Clay Hole
Mirror

SpectrumVarious Families

🟪 Purple Level

No Tile

Studio favorite

A dark gunmetal metallic with a genuinely reflective surface. Not a shimmer, an actual mirror.

Swipe or use the arrows, 11 in this row

The Ceramic Shop

2
The Ceramic Shop Pro Series Jewelry glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in The Ceramic Shop Pro Series Jewelry at The Clay Hole
Jewelry

The Ceramic ShopPro Series

🟪 Purple Level

No Tile

Studio favorite

Two glazes in one jar, decided by thickness. Applied thinly it breaks on the edges to a transparent green. Applied thicker it builds into a turquoise blue.

The Ceramic Shop Pro Series Tidal Pool glaze test tile, fired at The Clay HoleA pot fired in The Ceramic Shop Pro Series Tidal Pool at The Clay Hole
Tidal Pool

The Ceramic ShopPro Series

🟪 Purple Level

No Tile

Studio favorite

Dark blue and green with flecks of light blue through it, in The Ceramic Shop's own description. It breaks on texture and comes back warm brown where it does.

Studio Favorites at The Clay Hole: What earns a glaze a place here

What earns a glaze a place here

The bar is behavior, not beauty. A favorite has to be forgiving enough that a member gets a good result without a rehearsal, interesting enough to be worth choosing over a flat color, and consistent enough that the test tile and the finished pot look like the same glaze.

Plenty of glazes we love fail that third test on purpose. They are still worth using. They are just not what somebody wants on the day they are glazing a gift.

Studio Favorites at The Clay Hole: The three-glaze pot

The three-glaze pot

Almost every piece that stops people in the studio uses two or three glazes rather than one, and the pattern is usually the same. A solid base doing the work, a reactive or breaking glaze over part of it, and a hard edge between them where you stopped the second glaze deliberately.

You do not need a complicated idea. You need one glaze that behaves and one that misbehaves, and the discipline to leave a clean line between them.

Studio Favorites at The Clay Hole: Use the tiles, then ignore them

Use the tiles, then ignore them

Every tile in the Bible is one we fired, which makes them honest but not complete. A tile is flat, small, and fired in one spot in one kiln. Your pot is none of those things.

Treat a tile as a reliable guide to color and a rough guide to behavior. For anything you actually care about, the answer is still a test on your clay, on your form, at your thickness.

Common questions

How does a glaze get on this list?

We mark it, based on how it behaves on real member work rather than on how the jar looks.

Are these the most popular glazes?

Not necessarily. Popular and dependable are different things, and this list is about the second one.

Is a glaze that is not on this list a bad glaze?

No. Some of the most interesting things on our shelves are deliberately not here, because they need more from you.

Where should a beginner start?

Anything on this page, over a pot with a bit of texture on it.

Does the list change?

Yes. It moves as we see more work come out of the kilns.

Do favorites cost more?

No. Each glaze page states its own membership level, and favorites are spread across all of them.

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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