Jul 9, 2012

Stay Organized by Making Sample Glaze Tiles

Art teachers are always looking for the next best way to sort our assortment of clay supplies. Yes, I get a little giddy when things are neatly organized and it brings me great pride when students mention how these organizational tidbits truly work well and make everyone’s life in the art room that much easier.

Here is one magnificent tip to help students understand glazes! I got the idea because when it came time to glaze, no one knew what “ Firecracker” or “Amber” actually looked like. Glaze tiles let everyone know what the finished color will look like. Perhaps you’ve made your own Glaze Tiles before, but didn’t think to attach them directly to the glaze container. This will make your job and the student’s glaze process even easier!

Steps to creating Glaze Tiles:

Roll out slabs of clay
Cut out small rectangles that will fit on your glaze containers
Labeled each clay tile with the glaze number and glaze color title
Add texture to your clay tile to show students what the glaze will look like in grooves
Bisque Fire
Glaze with the correct color
Glaze Fire
Clear tape or velcro your glaze tiles onto the correct glaze container
Voila! No more glaze color confusion! Students will know what the finished glaze color will look like, and so will you.

I buy the glaze color in both pint and gallon sizes. I use the pint sizes with students to shake and glaze with. The gallon jug is a perfect way to refill the pint size container when it gets low. It also saves a little extra money to order in bulk sizes.

Create glaze tiles that show what the finished glaze color will be after firing both on a smooth and textured surface. Once you have made the glaze tiles then simply tape them on the correct glaze container and viola- no more digging through a pile of tiles to sort out what the finished color will look like. Creating glaze tiles helps student choose the right color for their project and helps you organize your glazes.

How do you label glazes for students to use in the art room?

Any other ceramics organization tips out there?

Erica

This is totally a summer project. Need to stock up on glazes it’s time for a donorschoose we never have money for glazes!
- Erica
  
  I have been trying to do this for years!!! My issue is I’m always buying different glazes:) going to stick to the same colors to make life easier
  - http://www.theartofed.com/ Chelsie Meyer
    
    Hello Erica, Yes this would be a great summer project! That is the commitment piece. I tried to choose a range of glazes I knew students really loved before I bought the bulk gallon size $. This year I did add a few additional glazes and underglazes based on what colors students were asking for. I thought I would try them out this year as pint size and see how things go before committing to the gallon container.
guest

I make my samples but include a hole in the top so that they can be strung and hung. I have a pegboard with hooks and hang the sample tiles there. It’s easier to compare and pick out colors (and cones) that go together.
- http://www.theartofed.com/ Chelsie Meyer
  
  I love pegboards for helping to organize art supplies! Do you fire both low & high fire ? My glazes are cone 05-06 low fire, to keep it all straight. :)
  - guest
    
    I have both high and low fire glazes on the tiles. They are on separate areas of the board. I also have samples of the different clays as well. Glaze looks completely different on red clay than on a white one! On the back of each tile, the information is recorded with a black permanent marker. Included is: name of the glaze, cone at which it is fired, and the company who makes it.
    - guest
      
      This is a picture of part of my pegboard.
      - http://www.theartofed.com/ Chelsie Meyer
        
        Thanks so much for sharing this! What great organization! I’m sure your students enjoy using this to select their glaze colors!
        
        I really like the fact that you are able to use BOTH low & high fire glazes, as well as red and white clay. What a wonderful glazing experience you provide for your students!
      - http://www.theartofed.com/ Cassidy Reinken
        
        I am drooling over your selection of glazes!
Dawn

I have taken a couple of flawed bisque ware bowls and covered them with wedges of color inside and out. After firing I wrote the names with black Sharpie. If we use up a glaze we cross out the name and I know to order more.
- http://www.theartofed.com/ Chelsie Meyer
  
  Hello Dawn, Thanks for sharing. What a great way to use Sharpie to label the glaze color!
- http://www.theartofed.com/ Jessica Balsley
  
  I like the large bowl idea and also the small tile idea- How to choose! I currently don’t have a sample glaze time method, so deciding what to do will be key. I love using clear glaze on red earthenware clay, too. It’s simple and beautiful!
http://www.theartofed.com/ Cassidy Reinken

What a great idea! I make circles out of clay with numbers on them. I make 30 of them at a time. When I get a new glaze, I paint a clay circle and fire it. Then I add it to my “Glaze Board.” It is a canvas board that I have glued the clay circles to. The number on the circle cooresponds to the number on the glaze. Students go to the Glaze Board to choose their color, then find the table that has that glaze at it. I like how you have them attached to the bottles.
- http://www.theartofed.com/ Chelsie Meyer
  
  Cassidy, I like how certain tables then have those glaze colors at them. Students know right where to go. Thanks for sharing!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EKNESYYA5LG36INIQXR66BB2G4 Cathy

I want to try this with my glazes but I think I will cut a circle a little smaller than the lid of the glaze jar and glue it to the lid! That way I can just switch the lid with the sample to another bottle of glaze when empty.
- http://www.theartofed.com/ Chelsie Meyer
  
  Hello Cathy, What a great idea to simply switch the lid. Thanks for sharing!
- Cindy
  
  Great idea! I am totally going to use this idea… with my own twist. All of my glazes are stored in a drawer, so it makes perfect sense to have the coloured glaze examples attached to the top of the jar! I will also label the colour name in permanent marker to ensure the colour matches the appropriate jar. The students will also see the name of the glaze so they can write it down in their notes/plan. Can’t wait to do this!!! Thanks for sharing!
Chris Hibbard

I make similar tiles for each color I order. I have organized the glaze bottles into boxes or trays by color families. Each box/tray has its accompanying piece of foam core. I hot glue the color tiles on the appropriate piece of foam core. When it’s time to glaze, I put the boxes and foam cards on the front supply table. The kids can choose which colors they want and take the jars. At clean up time, the plan is to return the jar to the box from which it was taken. Having the foam cards in front of them allows any student helpers to quickly sort any mistakes. Since I have some colors from different companies, I also put that info on the card. This method has helped me and my students.
artstudio301

Because I teach middle-school art, I need to be vigilant with students dipping their brushes into different colored glazes in which can contaminate the colors. So I pour out about 2 oz. of glaze into disposable 4 oz. plastic souffle cups (the kind used in the restaurant business that can be purchased at Sam’s or Costco). With a Sharpie, I write the name of the color on the outside of the cup. I have glazed tiles with the names of the colors already on them for students to look at for reference. This way they have their own cup of glaze. If the glaze gets soiled, I only have to throw away a small amount. When the student is finished using the glaze, they are instructed to snap the lid back on and return it to a tray I have set up. I rinse the cups out periodically and reuse them when I need to refill them, this way there is little waste. The lid snaps on pretty tightly, so the glazes keep for the time period that students need to finish glazing their projects (about a week). When the project is done, cups get rinsed and stored for the next time. Some lids crack after snapping on and off several times; that’s when I replace the broken ones with fresh lids. Doing it this way saves me counter top space, avoids ruining the entire bottle of glaze, and is portable to move around. Depending on your class size, you will know how many how cups to set up before hand and which are the more popular colors. Clean up is quick and goes smoothly because the souffle cups are easy to manage for this age.