What are glaze techniques?

Glaze techniques are ways to make pottery shiny and colorful, just like painting a toy car or adding sparkles to a cake.

Imagine you have a clay cup that's all rough and plain. If you want it to look pretty, you can use glaze, which is like special paint made from minerals that melt when heated. The way you apply this glaze can change how the cup looks once it’s done baking in the oven (or窑, which is like a super hot oven for pottery).

Sometimes people brush on the glaze, like painting with a brush. Other times, they dip the whole piece into a bowl of liquid glaze, like putting your hand into a pool and lifting it out so water drips off.

When the pottery goes into the窑 (or oven), the glaze melts and becomes smooth and shiny, kind of like how chocolate becomes glossy when it's melted. Different glazes can make the cup look glossy, matte, or even have cool patterns that pop out.

You can mix colors or use different layers to create fun designs, just like stacking candies in a jar!