Give your pottery a sprinkle of pixie dust with this magical glaze combination. All you need to recreate the look is Abbots Gold Dust and Abbots Spotted Ivory. 
Glaze combination shown: Abbots Gold Dust, Abbots Ivory Flux
What you’ll need:
Here’s everything you’ll need for this project:
- Abbots Gold Dust
- Abbots Ivory Flux
- Abbots Universal Medium optional, but handy!
- A bisque-fired piece (bisque-fired means the clay has been through its first firing, making it porous enough to absorb glaze). In this case I am using one of Decopot’s fabulous bisque tumblers.
- A soft brush
- A sponge and water
- Banding wheel, potter’s wheel, or Lazy Susan (optional)
- Access to an electric kiln (firing to Cone 6)
Step-by-step
Step 1 ~ Apply 2 coats of Abbots Gold Dust
Apply Coat 1
To get started, give your jar of Gold Dust a good shake.
We’ll be doing this demo without a banding wheel but go ahead and grab one if you have access to one.
Working with the whole piece (inside and outside, top to bottom) apply the first coat of Gold Dust, making sure to leave a 0.5 - 1cm margin at the foot.
If you’re using one hand to hold the piece and the other to apply glaze, it can be challenging not to also end up with a liberal coat on your fingers!
If this is happening to you, try flipping your pot upside down and placing your non-glazing hand inside it. Then use this inside hand to rotate the piece as you glaze. This technique is pictured below.
The first coat should dry quickly. Ensure it is dry to the touch before moving on to the second coat.
Tip:
If you find your brushstrokes are ‘sticking’ to the bisque, try adding a few drops of Universal Medium to the glaze you’re using. Besides having many other uses in the studio, Universal Medium slows bisque’s absorption rate, giving you a greater window to smooth your brushstrokes.
Apply Coat 2
Working with the whole piece once again, apply the second coat of Gold Dust.
If you used Universal Medium to adjust the first coat of Gold Dust, you should be safe to apply the second coat directly from the jar.
Allow the second coat of Gold Dust to dry.
Tip:
If you’re using the same brush to apply Gold Dust and Ivory Flux, do make sure to rinse it thoroughly after applying Gold Dust – the red iron oxide colourant likes to linger in the bristles!
✨ Step 2 ~ Apply 2 coats of Abbots Ivory Flux
Apply Coat 1
The second glaze we’ll be applying is Ivory Flux. This is such a versatile glaze to have on hand in your studio and so far, has worked with just about every other glaze I have!
Just as you did with Gold Dust, give Ivory Flux a good shake and apply the first coat to your whole piece (inside, outside, top, bottom).
Note that Ivory Flux can be a fluid glaze when applied thickly, so do make sure you leave at least 0.5 - 1cm clearance at the foot of your piece in case it decides to go for a run! This is particularly important if you’re working with work that will be fired vertically. *
Allow to dry before moving to the second coat.
*Note:
Notice how, in the fired result pictured above, the Ivory Flux has visually moved from top to bottom (remember gravity?). You can anticipate this movement and make your Ivory Flux coat thicker at the top than at the bottom to achieve a cascading waterfall effect. This takes a bit of practice but can be a handy trick in your tool kit!
Apply Coat 2
Apply the second coat of Ivory Flux, again working with the entire piece.
And you’re all done! Great work!
Leave to dry before firing.
Step 3 ~ Firing
Do be sure to wipe any glaze drips from the underside of your piece before firing.
Fire to Cone 6 (~1200C) in an electric kiln.
You can find a suggested firing schedule here.
Top tip:
It’s so tempting to just sling the lids back on your glaze jars without wiping the rims (speaking from experience). But I promise you – future you will thank you if you clean the openings first!
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Got a glaze or glaze combo you’d like us to demo? Get in touch and let us know!
About the author:
A self-confessed glaze nerd, Amy is a content creator for Abbots Glaze on a mission to get people excited about glazing! When she’s not making reels or testing new glaze recipes, you can find Amy making pots in her pottery studio, Palmerston North. You can follow Amy’s work on Instagram @fettlepotterynz
