3 types of glazes potters should know

A good ceramic work cannot overlook the importance of glazing. Potter must know different types of glazes and what their characteristics are in order to produce the best results as desired.

1. Opaque Glaze is often used when the ceramic work is not white or when the potter want to conceal the true color of the work. The opaque glaze has the high degree to which a glaze is non-transparent due to some substances in the glaze that cannot be dissolved or the development of opaque crystalline phases in the glaze during cooling. The potter can add opacifier to the transparent glaze to make it non-transparent.
2. Matt Glaze is like what its name suggest; a glaze that is not glossy. However, the matt can still feel very smooth. Matt glaze is the result of undissolved substances or scattered particles of the mixture are visible in the glaze.
3. Crystalline Glaze allows crystals to be form under or on glaze. The crystals are form as a result of controlled temperature of glaze after melting. The flux saturated chemicals in the glaze will be crystallized. They can be micro-crystals or crystalline depending on the chemicals used in the process.