Copper & Iron
8 glazes / Coyote
Copper blues, iron browns and an oxblood. The traditional end of the catalog, chasing looks that predate electric kilns by centuries.
Coyote call it one of their most varied series, which in practice means these eight do not behave alike and each one is worth reading on its own.
Cone 5/6Bisque to Cone 042 studio favorites
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Copper & Iron by the numbers
8glazes on our shelves
4at Green Level
2at Yellow Level
2at Black Level
4good on texture
2studio favorites
1discontinued by the maker
Friendly studio tip for this glaze family
This is the traditional shelf. Copper blues, iron browns, an oxblood, the looks people have been chasing for centuries.
Coyote call it one of their most varied series, and they mean it: these do not behave alike, so read the individual page before you commit. Some pool and run, some sit still.
On food safety Coyote say most of the series is durable enough for functional ware. Most is not all, so check the glaze you picked.
Every Copper & Iron glaze we have in house
Hover any tile to see a pot fired in it, or tap once on a phone.
Jump straight to one
Nothing by that name.
8 to choose from
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How the Copper & Iron line works
Eight glazes, fired between witness cone 5 and witness cone 6.
Coyote say most of the series is durable enough for functional ware, and that each glaze has its own properties. Several are runny and pool in texture, which is exactly what gives them the traditional look.
Coats
These behave differently from each other, so the useful detail is on each glaze's own page.
Several are runny and pool in texture, which is where the traditional look comes from.
Layering
Copper Blue is recommended by Coyote as a base glaze, and several in this series pool over texture in a way that suits a second color on top.
Food and safety
Coyote say most of this series is durable enough for functional ware. Most, not all, so check the individual glaze and test your own finished piece.
They have all their recipes reviewed by an independent toxicologist and none use lead.
Clays that suit Copper & Iron
Copper and iron glazes lean on what is underneath them.
Buff and dark bodies52 Buff, Speckled Buff and Berlin Gray suit the traditional look this series is going for.
Light bodies#16 Porcelain, B-Mix and Half & Half give the cleanest read of the blues.
On textureSeveral of these pool in carving and around throwing rings, which is the effect to aim for.
Worth knowingCoyote say crystals can form in the liquid glaze if it is stored below 65F.
From The Clay Hole University
More info about Copper & Iron below, but first... Everything we teach about glazing, written down and taught properly. These are the glaze lessons, and they are a small corner of a library that runs from centering your first pot to selling your work.
GuideGlaze Brushing Techniques, Coat by Coat
GuideGlazing Big and Intricate Pottery Faster
GuideGetting the Most Out of the Mega Glaze Tool
GuideMaking, Logging and Dialing in Test Tiles
GuideGlaze Problems, Causes and Fixes
GuideGlazing on the Wheel for Even Coats and Clean Bands
GuideBubble Glaze with Dish Soap
GuideMixing Your Own Glazes: What It Actually Involves
GuideMaking a Glaze Catcher
GuideOxide and Carbonate Washes
GuideWhen to Use Celadon Glazes
GuideHow to Use Dipping Glazes
UnderglazeHow to Use Underglaze: Techniques, Rules and Firing
UnderglazeMishima: How to Inlay Slip and Underglaze into Carved Lines
UnderglazeWipe-Away Texture: Underglaze and Oxide Washes on Bisque
The Copper & Iron test tile pot
Every glaze family on our shelves has its own test tile pot, and it is the fastest way to decide what to put on a piece. It is a fired pot wearing the whole family, one numbered tile per glaze, on a surface built to show you what that glaze actually does rather than just what color it is.
Look for Coyote Copper & Iron written on the rim. Each glaze on this page carries its tile number, and the numbers run around the pot.
One trick worth knowing
Some glazes tell you loudly that they run. Others hide it. Look at how the brushed lines fired: crisp edges mean a stable glaze, and edges that went soft and fluid mean it moved, and it will move on your pot too.
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.