Ceramics Making Test Tiles

And to improve your results it helps to have test tiles that mimic the kind of work you make.

Ceramics making test tiles.

Test tiles are an invaluable resource for choosing glazes. Roll out a slab of high fire clay and cut into 6x6cm squares. How to test tweak and perfect your glazes john britt shows several different ways to make test tiles. Thrown rings with a flange cut into sections these take up.

There are many ways to make test tile. The clay will brought to the edge of this in the form of a bottomless cylinder. For any work on the wheel centering clay is the first step. In this video an excerpt from his dvd understanding glazes.

For this test tile we are using a 15 diameter bat. You learn how materials work and have a visual record for future use. To make simple melt test tiles i use this easy technique. Here are examples of the test tiles i use regularly.

Tools materials clay slab 3 16 thick black underglaze flexible ribs red yellow mud tools clay knife or x acto dolan 220s cutting wire banding wheel flower cookie cutter stamps to add texture small brush for underglaze straight edge studio notebook ware board. The word test tile can refer to any shape of clay that s used to test glazes slips underglazes engobes etc. Arbuckle test tiles test tiles docx page 1 of 1 test tiles making accurate glaze tests is a good investment of time. Spread clay to the edge of the bat and then begin to open.

In this post i ll share lots of different examples of ways you can make your own test tiles. Using a piece of high density foam and a 4x4cm piece of wood quickly press each square into the foam creating a shallow dish.