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The Clay Hole University · Glazing

Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two PotsPrintable pottery guide

Two pots from one jar, read like evidence on paper: how thickness, the clay, the shape and the firing each change a glaze, the questions that find which one did it, and a log for every pair that surprised you.

$5.005 guides, 1 free
  • Skill level: All levels
  • 24 printable pages
  • 3 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 Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots printable guide?

It is the free “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” lesson rebuilt for paper: the four things that change between the jar and the finished pot, each shown on its own in an illustration and a labeled section drawing, ten questions to ask any two pots, the clues and what they usually mean, and a way to test the answer one change at a time. Built to be printed, kept beside the glaze table and written in.

Prefer to read it online first? The “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” lesson is free, and always will be.

  • 24printable pages, US Letter
  • 8quiz questions, with a full answer key
  • 3hand-picked videos, each with a QR code
  • 18glossary terms in plain language
  • 2workbook pages you fill in yourself
For anyone who has opened a kiln and not recognized their own glaze

Read the pot, not the jar.

A glaze in the jar is a recipe. It only becomes glass on your pot, in a layer as thick as you laid it, over the clay you chose, on the shape you made, in the heat and cooling that load got. Change any one of those and you have changed the glass.

This guide takes those four one at a time, each with one picture where nothing else changes, so you can see what thickness does on its own, what the clay does, what the shape does and what the cooling does. Then it turns that into ten questions you can ask of any two pots, side by side, in daylight.

And it gives you what a web page cannot: a log with a line for every pair that surprised you, and a one page reference to keep at the glaze table. A few lines in, the surprises start explaining themselves.

Look inside

Real pages, ready for the glaze table

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

  • Page 3 of the “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” printable guide: before you begin, shown with the sample watermark
    Before you beginOne page before the first section: what you will learn, what you will need, what is worth knowing first, the common pitfalls and what success looks like.
  • Page 9 of the “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” printable guide: the shape of the pot, shown with the sample watermark
    The shape of the potA labeled section drawing of one even coat after it melts: thin at the rim and over every ridge, thick in every groove, pooled in the floor. Then the same glaze on a bowl and a ringed cylinder.
  • Page 12 of the “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” printable guide: ten questions for any two pots, shown with the sample watermark
    Ten questions for any two potsTwo checklists to work through with both pots in front of you: five things to look at on the pots and five to check in your record, each with what a yes points to.
  • Page 17 of the “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” printable guide: two pots, one glaze: the comparison log, shown with the sample watermark
    Two pots, one glaze: the comparison logA log with a line for every pair: the glaze, the clay of each pot, the coats and brush, the shapes, the loads and dates, and the one thing to change next time.
Flip through the free sampleTen pages, free, no email required.
Why this one belongs on paper

A page that sits beside the two pots

Most of what this guide teaches happens with two fired pots in your hands and a jar of glaze on the table. Paper is already there.

  • Ticks beside the pots

    The ten questions are tick boxes, so you can work down them with both pots in front of you and see at a glance which leads you have.

  • A line for every pair

    The log keeps the glaze, the clay, the coats, the shapes and the loads of each surprising pair, so the next one comes with its own explanation.

  • The four variables on one page

    What thin and thick look like, what each kind of clay does, where a shape thins and pools a glaze, and what the cooling changes, on one reference page.

  • Glazy hands are welcome

    A printed page does not mind a drip of glaze or a damp sponge, and it does not lock its screen while you are turning a pot over to look at the foot.

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 our other lessons

    We checked the lesson against our lessons on what glaze is, what a firing does, brushing, dipping, celadons and test tiles, so the guide says what those pages say about the same glazes and rules.

  • Illustrations, labeled as illustrations

    The side by side pictures are illustrations made to show one change at a time, and every caption says so. They teach what to look for, and the guide never presents them as our own fired tiles.

  • Claims from the people who make the materials

    The thickness, clay and cooling explanations follow published glaze references, a glaze maker’s own notes on clay bodies and a kiln maker’s notes on where a kiln loses heat.

  • Written for a reader in any studio

    The lines about our own studio say so, and the advice about the firing is written for a potter who fires at a shared studio and one who fires at home.

  • Video notes that claim no more than the videos

    Each video note was written from the video’s own title, description and chapters, so it promises only what the video says it covers.

  • Codes that keep working

    Every link is a short Clay Hole address. If a page moves, we point the address at its new home 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 “Why the Same Glaze Looks Different on Two Pots” lesson, and that lesson is not going anywhere.

A glaze jar promises a recipe, and it keeps that promise every time. What it cannot promise is your thickness, your clay, your shape or your firing.

Set your two pots side by side and read them before you judge the glaze.

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.

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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, the illustrations and drawings set beside their keys, a comparison log, a one page reference, a glossary and a quiz with an answer key that explains every answer.
Are the side by side pictures photographs of real tiles?
No. They are illustrations, and every caption says so. Each one holds everything still except one thing, the coats, the clay, the shape or the cooling, so you can see what that one change does. Your own glaze on your own clay is the real answer, and the guide shows you how to test it.
Does it apply if I fire at home?
Yes. Thickness, the clay and the shape behave the same in any kiln, and the firing section explains why one spot in a kiln, or one load, can differ from the next. The parts about our own studio are labeled as ours.
Do I need to be a member of The Clay Hole to use it?
No. It is written for a potter anywhere. Where it mentions our glaze wall or our kiln log, it says so.
Is this too early for me?
It is marked for all levels. If you have glazed and fired even one pot, you have everything you need, and the glossary fills in the words. No glaze chemistry is needed.
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 checklists and the log are black on white. The pictures print in grey, and the section drawings are grey lines with red numbers, so they read the same. Color is used for headings and small labels.
Can I read it on a screen?
Yes. Every code in the guide is also a link you can tap, so it works on a tablet or a laptop as well as on paper.
Can I print just part of it?
Yes. The ten questions, the comparison log and the one page reference are the pages worth keeping at the glaze table. They are numbered pages like any other, so you can print those and leave the rest on a screen.
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 before your next unload.
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.

Same jar, different pot

Four variables, ten questions and a line in the log for every surprise. The guide keeps all of it beside you while you read your pots.

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