Ceramic Colorants

Learning how to work with ceramic colorants can be one of the most exciting parts of the ceramic process to the novice potter or ceramic artist. Developing the skills to effectively use ceramic colorants in glazes, slips, and clay can really help potters and ceramic artists develop their voices in clay.

This section features articles on how to use how to use ceramic stains and colorants in glaze recipes, how to make colored slip, how underglazes can be used to create bright colors and so much more. And ceramic colorants are not just used to create color ON the surface. You’ll also find out how to make colored clay and use it for techniques such as nerikomi or neriage.

Plus, don’t forget to download your free copy of How to Add Color to Your Ceramic Art: A Guide to Using Ceramic Colorants, Ceramic Stains, and Ceramic Oxides, which is a great primer on ceramic pigments! If you’ve delved into it at all, you know that creating ceramic color is a tricky subject. Unlike paints, ceramic colorants often look very different in their unfired state than they do in their fired state. So it helps to have a good understanding of all of the ceramic colorant options available. The great news for potters today is that it doesn’t take years of experimentation and testing to come up with the color you want. Because of modern stain technology, we have practically every color of the rainbow at our fingertips. Browse through these pages and make sure you know what colorant is most suited to using in a clay body versus what works best in a glaze. Learn about what oxides make which colors, and how different firing atmospheres can impact color. The subject of ceramic colorants is fascinating! Dive in today and add some color to your work!