Fire Opal
MBG012
Fire Opal is a satin brush-on glaze from Coyote's Mottled line, fired cone 5 to cone 6.
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The quick version of Fire Opal
What this glaze does
A bright pink with a haze over it where the glaze goes thick. Coyote say it works on its own and combines well with both their Gloss and Archie's series.
Coyote built the Mottled series to give variegated color without any technique on your part. Applied thick, it does the work itself.
Clays that suit Fire Opal
These are doing their own thing on the surface, so the clay under them matters less than how thickly you brush.
Applying this glaze to your work
Apply these thick. Coyote say so outright: the Mottled glazes may look thick in the jar, and they are meant to go on that way.
That is where the variegation comes from. A thin coat gives you a flat version of the color and none of the mottling you picked it up for.
Thick. Coyote say the Mottled glazes may appear thick in the jar and are meant to go on that way.
A thin coat gives you a flat version of the color and none of the variegation, which is the whole reason to reach for this shelf. If it feels like more glaze than you would normally brush, that is about right.
Layering
Coyote describe the Mottled glazes as good on their own or combined with other glazes. Pam's Green over their Archie's Base is the pairing they name most often.
Coyote describe these as good on their own or combined with other glazes.
The pairing they name most often is Pam's Green over their Archie's Base, and they list Fire Opal as combining well with both the Gloss and Archie's series.
From The Clay Hole University
More info about Fire Opal 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
Firing Fire Opal
Coyote fire these between witness cone 5 and witness cone 6, which is where our glaze kilns run.
None of this is yours to manage. We handle everything on the kiln side, and every glaze on our shelves can be fired safely in our studio.
Common problems with Fire Opal
Why is mine flat with no mottling?
Almost certainly too thin. Coyote say these should be applied thick, and the variegation only appears when they are.
Why does the jar look so thick?
That is expected. Coyote note the Mottled glazes may appear thick in the jar.
Why did my jar look crystallised?
Coyote say crystals can form in the liquid glaze if it is stored below 65F.
Food and function
Coyote list this glaze as containing cadmium, and say it passes FDA cadmium release guidelines for food safety in their testing. Cadmium is what makes the bright reds and pinks possible.
Coyote ask that you test your own finished ware. If a piece is going to hold food or drink daily, that is worth doing rather than assuming.
Two of these five contain cadmium: Fire Opal and Sunset Pink. Coyote say both pass FDA cadmium release guidelines for food safety in their testing, and cadmium is what makes those bright pinks possible at all.
The other three carry no such note, and Coyote have all their recipes reviewed by an independent toxicologist with no lead in any of them. Coyote ask that you test your own finished ware, and on a daily use mug that is worth actually doing.
Our test tile pots
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.
- 1Find the pot The brand and family name are written on the rim. This glaze lives on the Coyote Mottled pot.
- 2Find the tile This one is tile #5. The numbers match the ones in the Glaze Bible.
- 3Read it properly Look at what the glaze does across all four textures, not just what color it is.
What to look at on the tile
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 the Coyote Mottled Family
Five glazes that give you a variegated, broken-up surface without doing anything clever.
Coyote built the Mottled series so the color does the work: brush it on and it comes out of the kiln with depth and movement in it. The catch is that it only happens if you put it on thick.
Five colors, fired between witness cone 5 and witness cone 6. Coyote describe them as simple to apply and suitable for all types of ware. The one instruction that matters is thickness: they say these may look thick in the jar and should be applied thick. That is not a warning, it is the recipe.
More ways to pick a glaze
Membership levels that may use this glaze: Yellow, Purple & Black
Not sure whether this glaze suits what you are making, or how it works with our system here? Ask an instructor. That is what we are here for, and a two minute conversation at the shelf beats a fired pot you did not want.
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.