Course on Ceramic Glaze Technology

Professional development course
Upon completion, participants receive a certificate recognized by public offices and institutions. The course fee is exempt from VAT under Article 43, section 1, point 29 of the VAT Act.

This course is designed for individuals who have experimented little or not at all with glazes so far — and who finally want to understand what and why things happen in the glaze bucket and then in the kiln.

Its format is based on a combination of theory and practice: lecture elements are interspersed with exercises, thanks to which knowledge turns into experience, and experience into knowledge. Prior knowledge of technological issues is not required — that's what the instructor is for 😉.

When designing the workshop, we were guided by the principle of "a fishing rod instead of a fish." The experimental part focuses on understanding the operation and function of individual ceramic raw materials, rather than on "making one finished glaze." This is a workshop that teaches technological thinking, not reproducing recipes.

The program is intensive, but designed so that participants leave with:

• a solid foundation of knowledge,

• real experience working with glazes,

• and tools that allow them to continue experimenting independently.

During the workshops, you will learn, among other things:

• how to read and convert glaze recipes,

• how to consciously modify them,

• how to prepare glaze "according to the rules of art,"

• how to think about coloring, ingredient proportions, and their properties.

All these issues will also be the subject of practical experiments. Each participant receives their own scale, tools, and test tiles to independently go through the entire process, feel like a technologist-researcher, and (very possibly) catch the technological bug for good.

The workshops take place over a weekend and last a total of 16 hours:

• 8 hours (10:00 AM - 6:00 PM) on Saturday (with a lunch break),

• 6 hours (9:00 AM - 3:00 PM) on Sunday (with a lunch break),

• a 2-hour online wrap-up meeting after the test firings.

All classes are led by Zuza Nowak from BISKWIT Educational Studio.

During the workshops, participants create 20–30 samples and participate in approximately 4 hours of presentation-lecture parts.

PS. Don't worry, if the word "chemistry" makes you slightly stressed — these workshops are also for you!

They were designed for people who want to understand glazes but don't necessarily want to revisit their school chemistry lessons. We don't overly focus on chemical formulas or complicated equations — we focus on logic, relationships, and practice, i.e., what actually helps in daily work with glazes.

Instructor's Bio

Zuzanna Nowak — involved in ceramics for 11 years, a graduate of Art and Ceramic Design at the Wrocław Academy of Fine Arts, founder of BISKWIT Educational Ceramic Studio with almost ten years of experience in conducting courses and training. Her specialty and passion are glaze and ceramic body technology, including developing her own recipes. Author of the diploma thesis "Crystallization - a study of enchantment."