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The Clay Hole University · Glazing

Crystalline Glazes: Getting Great ResultsPrintable pottery guide

The most spectacular glaze in ceramics, on paper: why it runs, the pedestal and catcher, the schedule that grows the crystals, how to take it apart safely, and a log for every firing.

$20.005 guides, 1 free
  • Skill level: Advanced
  • 24 printable pages
  • 5 video picks
  • 8-question quiz + answer key

Flip through the free sample
  • Instant download
  • Prints on any printer
  • The lesson stays free
The printable, at a glance

What is the Crystalline Glazes: Getting Great Results printable guide?

It is the free “Getting Great Results with Crystalline Glazes” lesson rebuilt for paper: why a crystalline glaze is built to run, the pedestal and catcher that keep it off the shelf, the firing schedule that grows the crystals, taking the pot apart and grinding the foot safely, six ways it goes wrong, what fires at The Clay Hole and what does not, and five videos. Built to be printed, kept beside the kiln and written in.

Prefer to read it online first? The “Getting Great Results with Crystalline Glazes” lesson is free, and always will be.

  • 24printable pages, US Letter
  • 8quiz questions, with a full answer key
  • 5hand-picked videos, each with a QR code
  • 12glossary terms in plain language
  • 2workbook pages you fill in yourself
For anyone who has seen a vase that looks like frost on a window

Love the surface? Know the catch first.

A crystalline glaze can be the most spectacular surface in ceramics, and the one most likely to weld a pot to a shelf. The glaze is built to run so that crystals can move, and the firing schedule does almost all of the work of growing them.

The guide lays it out in four steps with a tick list at each: why the glaze runs, the pedestal and catcher it stands on, the schedule, and taking it apart. It is straight about the catch. The technique needs a kiln that can hold on the way down, and ours does not, so this is written for the kiln that can.

It also gives you something a web page cannot: a log to write in. The recipe and how thick it went on, the schedule you ran, what grew and the one line you would change. After ten firings, the log is the recipe.

Look inside

Real pages, for beside the kiln

These are actual pages from the guide, shown here with the sample watermark.

  • Page 3 of the “Crystalline Glazes: Getting Great Results” printable guide: before you begin, shown with the sample watermark
    Before you beginOne page before any glaze is mixed: what you will learn, what you would need, what is worth knowing, the common pitfalls, and what a good result looks like.
  • Page 6 of the “Crystalline Glazes: Getting Great Results” printable guide: what you need, shown with the sample watermark
    What you needThe six things on the list, starting with the kiln, and the opening of step one on why the glaze runs.
  • Page 13 of the “Crystalline Glazes: Getting Great Results” printable guide: how it works at the clay hole, shown with the sample watermark
    How it works at The Clay HoleWhere the studio stands: what fires here, what does not, and why the pot can start here and finish somewhere that holds.
  • Page 17 of the “Crystalline Glazes: Getting Great Results” printable guide: every firing, and what it grew, shown with the sample watermark
    Every firing, and what it grewA log to write in: the recipe and thickness, the schedule, what grew and the one change.
Flip through the free sampleTen pages, free, no email required.
Why this one belongs on paper

A schedule and a log are things you keep beside you

A crystalline firing is a table of temperatures and holds, and it gets written down as you go. Paper suits that.

  • The safety rules where you can see them

    Glasses on before any tap, light taps at the join, and grinding wet, never dry, with a respirator on. They sit on pages you can pin up by the bench.

  • A reason for every step

    Each step comes with the reason behind it: why the glaze runs, why the pot stands on a pedestal, why the hold is where the crystals grow.

  • A log for your own firings

    Columns for the recipe, the schedule, what grew and the one change. Ten firings of notes beat a memory of what you did.

  • It does not mind a dusty bench

    A page stays where you put it. It does not lock its screen, and you can wipe it down with the rest of the bench.

How this one is built

Rebuilt for paper, not printed from a web page

Every guide in the series is set from scratch for print. Here is what that meant for this one.

  • Read against the studio’s own rules

    We checked the lesson against The Clay Hole’s rules and our other lessons. Where the lesson was out of step, the guide now says what those pages say.

  • Safer wording on the foot

    Taking the pedestal off now means light sideways taps with glasses on, and grinding the foot is wet, never dry, with a respirator on.

  • Plainer promises

    Alumina goes on the catcher as a wet wash, a crystalline glaze is for looking at and not for food, and our porcelain is named for what it can and cannot do.

  • Video notes that say what the video shows

    Each of the five videos has a note checked against its description and chapter list, so the guide promises only what a video covers.

  • A quiz that explains itself

    A short quiz, and an answer key that gives the reason behind every answer rather than only the letter.

  • Codes that keep working

    Every link is a short Clay Hole address. If a page moves, we repoint the address and your printed copy still goes to the right place.

Why the University is free

The lesson is free. It always will be.

All of the teaching in this guide comes from the free “Getting Great Results with Crystalline Glazes” lesson, and that lesson is not going anywhere.

It may be the most spectacular surface in ceramics.

Throw the vase here, bisque it here, and fire it somewhere that holds.

Dan Pearce, founder of The Clay Hole
The series

Build a little pottery library

Every printable guide in The Clay Hole University series takes one free lesson and rebuilds it for paper, with workbook pages, a glossary and a quiz with a worked answer key. Each one keeps its number for good, so a guide you buy today is the same guide in the same place next year.

Put any five printable guides in your cart and the cheapest one is on us. Put in nine and the two cheapest are on us. It happens automatically at checkout, no code to remember.

See every printable guide

  • 5guides in your cart1 on us
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Sits next to

Three lessons that pick up where this one leaves off

Each one is free to read online, and the codes in the guide take you straight there.

Questions

Good to know

How is this different from the free lesson?
The teaching is the same, and the free lesson is not going anywhere. The guide is that teaching rebuilt for paper: a learning dashboard at the front, a log to write in, a one page summary, a glossary and a quiz with an answer key that explains every answer.
Can I fire a crystalline glaze at The Clay Hole?
No, and the guide says so plainly. The technique needs a kiln that holds on the way down, and our kilns run one schedule for everyone. You can throw and bisque the pot here and fire it somewhere that holds. The crystal effect glazes in jars are a different thing and do fire here.
Does it teach me to fire it myself?
It teaches the technique for a kiln with a programmable controller: the schedule, the pedestal and catcher, and taking it apart. It is written for potters everywhere, and it marks where The Clay Hole does things differently.
Is a crystalline glaze food safe?
No. The guide treats it as decorative only, for vases, bottles and things you look at. For the glazes on our wall, it points you to our Food Safe Lookup.
Do I need to be a member to use it?
You do not need to be a member to read it. The pot can start with us, and the guide explains where the studio stops and your own kiln begins.
Is this too early for me?
It is marked Advanced. It helps to have glazed and fired a good many pieces first, and to have a kiln with a controller in mind. The glossary fills in the words.
Do I need a fancy printer?
No. It is set for an ordinary home or office printer on regular US Letter paper, with nothing important near the edges, so normal printer margins cut nothing off.
Does it print in black and white?
Yes. The text, the tick boxes and the tables are black on white, and color is used for headings and small labels.
Can I print just part of it?
Yes, and most people do. The one page summary and the firing log are the two worth having beside the kiln. They are numbered pages like any other, so you can print those and leave the rest on a screen.
Do the videos work on paper?
Each video has a short note and a code that takes you straight to it, so you can scan it from the page.
How does delivery work?
It is a digital download. The link arrives by email and on the order confirmation page right after checkout, so you can have it printed and beside the bench the same evening.
What happens if the guide is updated?
Every edition carries its version number on the last page. When we correct or improve one, the new edition replaces the old one in the shop, and we can send the updated link to anybody who already bought it.
Can I share it?
It is licensed for your own use. Print as many copies for yourself as you like, on as many of your own devices as you like. Please do not pass the file on, upload it or use it with a class or a group without asking us first.

Read the technique, then fire it somewhere that holds

Know why it runs, build the pedestal and catcher, plan the schedule and keep the glasses and respirator on. The guide keeps the whole technique in front of you at the kiln.

Get the guide · $20.00

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We work hard to make The Clay Hole University accurate, useful, practical, and ridiculously thorough. But pottery is a hands-on craft involving countless variables that no written guide can completely control or anticipate.

Depending on what you are doing, ceramics may involve extreme heat, kilns, electricity, gas, flame, sharp tools, spinning machinery, heavy equipment, pressurized equipment, silica-containing dust, fumes, chemicals, raw materials, stains, oxides, glazes, combustible materials, hot surfaces, breakable objects, and other hazards capable of causing serious injury, illness, property damage, fire, or worse.

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Studios, kilns, clay bodies, glazes, firing schedules, electrical systems, ventilation systems, equipment, environmental conditions, application thicknesses, material formulations, and individual techniques vary enormously. Something that works beautifully in one situation may fail spectacularly in another. That is part of pottery. Occasionally, it is a very expensive part of pottery.

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