Texture

19 glazes / Spectrum

Nineteen glazes out of Spectrum's 1100 cone 4 to 6 stoneware range, grouped on our shelf by what they do rather than by a Spectrum line name.

Most carry Texture in the name. Spectrum formulate them to react during the firing, which is where the broken, mottled surfaces come from.

Cone 4/6Bisque to Cone 044 studio favorites

Texture by the numbers

19glazes on our shelves
9at Yellow Level
10at Purple Level
10good on texture
4studio favorites

Every Texture 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

19 to choose from

Order
Hot Pink glaze test tileA pot fired in Hot Pink
Hot Pink

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #9

Good on texture

A clean bubblegum pink, fully opaque. The most saturated pink on this shelf.

Olive Stone glaze test tileA pot fired in Olive Stone
Olive Stone

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #3

A very dark olive brown that goes near black in the field, with a dry stony break on the edges.

Satin Wedgewood glaze test tileA pot fired in Satin Wedgewood
Satin Wedgewood

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #1

Good on texture

A pale cornflower blue with a soft surface. Spectrum spell it Satin Wedgwood, without the middle e.

Texture Autumn glaze test tileA pot fired in Texture Autumn
Texture Autumn

SpectrumTexture

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #13

Good on texture

Rust brown with gold and darker mottling moving through it. One of the more active surfaces in the group.

Texture Burgundy glaze test tileA pot fired in Texture Burgundy
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.

Texture Chowder glaze test tileA pot fired in Texture Chowder
Texture Chowder

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #16

Good on texture

A cream with faint speckle through it. The quietest color in the group and a good background.

Texture Dark Cloud glaze test tileA pot fired in Texture Dark Cloud
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.

Texture Honey glaze test tileA pot fired in Texture Honey
Texture Honey

SpectrumTexture

🟨 Yellow Level

Tile #4

Good on texture Studio favorite

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

Texture Kiwi Fruit glaze test tileA pot fired in Texture Kiwi Fruit
Texture Kiwi Fruit

SpectrumTexture

🟪 Purple Level

Tile #12

A deep green with gold breaking hard on the raised letters. Similar contrast to Nori Green on the Floating shelf.

Pots decorated with Spectrum Texture glazes at The Clay Hole pottery studio

How the Texture line works

Spectrum are direct about what decides the result on these: firing temperature, how thick the glaze goes on, and the clay body underneath. Change any one and you get a different pot.

That is the trade with a reactive glaze. Less predictable than a flat color, and considerably more interesting on a carved or thrown surface.

Coats

Two to three coats on cone 04 bisque. Thickness is one of the three things Spectrum name as moving the fired result, so keep it even unless you want the variation.

Layering

Spectrum recommend overlapping their glazes for new results. On a reactive glaze that is genuinely worth testing on a tile first, because two reactive surfaces together are hard to predict.

Food and safety

Spectrum say most of their cone 4 to 6 stoneware glazes are lead free and dinnerware safe. Some of the reactive ones carry an ACMI cautionary label because of copper or vanadium in the wet glaze, which makes them unsuitable for young children or anyone pregnant to handle. Wet only. Fired and cooled, that is not the concern.

Spectrum page for the line

Clays that suit Texture

Clay body is one of the three variables Spectrum name. On our darker bodies the pale ones in this group go noticeably deeper.

Blocks of clay in the studio at The Clay Hole The complete guide to clay bodies What each body is made of and how it behaves under a glaze. The clay bodies we stock at The Clay Hole The clays we carry Every body on our shelf, with bag sizes and prices.

From The Clay Hole University

More info about Texture 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.

Glaze Brushing Techniques, Coat by Coat GuideGlaze Brushing Techniques, Coat by Coat Glazing Big and Intricate Pottery Faster GuideGlazing Big and Intricate Pottery Faster Getting the Most Out of the Mega Glaze Tool GuideGetting the Most Out of the Mega Glaze Tool Making, Logging and Dialing in Test Tiles GuideMaking, Logging and Dialing in Test Tiles Glaze Problems, Causes and Fixes GuideGlaze Problems, Causes and Fixes Glazing on the Wheel for Even Coats and Clean Bands GuideGlazing on the Wheel for Even Coats and Clean Bands Bubble Glaze with Dish Soap GuideBubble Glaze with Dish Soap Mixing Your Own Glazes: What It Actually Involves GuideMixing Your Own Glazes: What It Actually Involves Making a Glaze Catcher GuideMaking a Glaze Catcher Oxide and Carbonate Washes GuideOxide and Carbonate Washes When to Use Celadon Glazes GuideWhen to Use Celadon Glazes How to Use Dipping Glazes GuideHow to Use Dipping Glazes How to Use Underglaze: Techniques, Rules and Firing UnderglazeHow to Use Underglaze: Techniques, Rules and Firing Mishima: How to Inlay Slip and Underglaze into Carved Lines UnderglazeMishima: How to Inlay Slip and Underglaze into Carved Lines Wipe-Away Texture: Underglaze and Oxide Washes on Bisque UnderglazeWipe-Away Texture: Underglaze and Oxide Washes on Bisque
Browse all 170+ lessons and guides
Browse every glaze and underglaze we carryAll Spectrum glazesFind one on our shelves
Test tile pots lined up on the glaze shelves at The Clay Hole

The Texture 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 Spectrum Texture 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.

Download the Glaze Bible PDF