Amazing Glaze: Techniques, Recipes, Finishing, and Firing (Mastering Ceramics) Hardcover – Illustrated, December 18, 2018

I bought this book because I’ve always had massive anxiety around the prospects of glazing my wares (I majored in ceramics in college and have been making pots for over 5 years) and this book truly provides a step by step guide to mastering the art of glazing in a way that takes the stress out of the process.Gabriel’s language is very easy to read, insightful, informative, even funny at times and the pictures are just amazing (really lives up to the title.From providing pages and pages of great glaze recipes (with pictures) ranging in temp. From low fire to high fire, to covering all the bases of surface design and showing great examples of wares made by a vast variety of ceramic artists in the field, Gabriel really lays everything you need to know out on the line.He even goes over creating a triaxial blend (something that has always intimidated me) in a way that’s very easy to understand.Wood firing, salt and soda firing, raku, firing with crystalline glazes, using decals, luster glazing, slip casting, China paints, non-glaze finishes, literally all the possibilities are covered in this book. He even tells you how to program your electric kiln correctly for different firing ranges as well as how to reduction fire in a gas kiln.I couldn’t reccomend this book more highly to anyone considering buying. It’s my new glaze bible that I now love and cherish and have learned so much from reading.

The beauty of Gabriel Kline's book makes it appropriate even for those who do not work in clay. The photographs walk you through the process -- they are an introduction to ceramics but also to craftsmen/craftswomen and the passion they bring to their craft. The writing is reader-friendly. It takes a subject that can be highly technical and, without losing detail or accuracy, conveys it in compelling and clear language. Kline is not only an outstanding writer; he is also an effective teacher. He is able to put himself in the shoes of the novice potter, the university art student, the apprentice ready to open her own studio, and the established ceramic artist searching for inspiration. The book's adaptability to people at all stages in their journey as potters is as striking as it is unusual. It is also amazing to find close to 100 recipes for glazes, slips, washes, underglazes, etc., towards the back of the book. Kline has shared (with credit to creators) recipes that other potters might well keep for themselves, and this generosity of spirit infuses the text throughout. As Ben Carter, the author of _Mastering the Potter's Wheel_, writes "This book made me fall in love with glaze all over again."

This book is a gorgeous breath of fresh air from other ceramics books. Besides being visually STUNNING (the cover is even cooler in real life), the text is written in a unique and way that is both academic and rigorous while breaking down terms and ideas for the layman in a far less formal manner that makes the reader feel like a peer, an equal, instead of an insubordinate who is lucky to just witness someone's knowledge. Gabriel Kline is more than a potter- dude's a writer, and I cannot think of a book I would recommend more. Honestly, I think this would make a fantastic textbook at the college level for a intro to glazing/glaze chemistry class. Incredible value in with amazing photos and contributors.

I would recommend this to someone interested in just getting started mixing their glazes from raw materials. But if you know you are going to be working in mid-range firing (cones 5-6) I would recommend Hesselberth and Roy's Mastering Cone 6 Glazes over this one. And as you get your feet wet, think about John Britt's Complete Guide to Mid-Range Glazes. I have been doing pottery for over 50 years, on and off - long before there were commercial glazes readily available. When I got this book, I thought it was well-done (and John Britt wrote an intro to it, which is a bit of an endorsement). Some of the glazes are from Hessleberth and Roy anyway. So - if you are looking to add to your glaze learning library, this one is okay but think about the other two I mention here. Then you have three great resources to help you learn to mix your own glazes successfully.

Some of the reviews here have suggested the book is just for beginners, and I'd like to disagree. It is also a worthwhile book for potters who have been working a long time, encountering the same disappointments and confusions over the years. This book makes clear many ideas that have been developed more recently in the ceramic world, and that older potters, struggling with older methods, might not be aware of. It is written clearly, logically and generously - the author shares his glaze recipes (some for high-fire, mid-range and low-fire), layering suggestions and inspiration for finding one's own style in glazing. Also, very easy to read!

This book is amazing! I have been throwing pots for about five years, and glazing has always been a mystery to me... This book covers so many different techniques, in a very understandable step by step process, and has uncovered the mystery to me of layering and getting depth out of my glazes, among many other mysteries! I found this book very helpful and very beautifully done. It also makes a great gift! I gave this book to my dad, a potter of 50 years, and he loves it! If you are interested in pottery and the process of glazing or know someone who is a potter this book is a must!

A must-have for every potter, Amazing Glaze demystifies the glazing process in simple, non-technical, playful prose by glaze guru Gabriel Kline of Odyssey Clayworks. It will motivate even the most reluctant "glaze hater" back into the glaze lab, lured by inspiring photos of the glazing process and glazes running the full gamut from low to high fire, oxidation/reduction, raku, salt/soda and wood. The coup de grâce is a smorgasbord of luscious cone 6 & 10 glaze combos and recipes that reflect years of trial and error in the Odyssey glaze "kitchen".