The Main Variables

Using the Grid Method to Discover and Understand Glazes

The Main Variables

The Grid Method is a structured way of looking at and experimenting with glazes.  It is a "recipe method", which means we do not need to have any deep knowledge of chemistry or mathematics to understand and to use it.  It deals systematically with the main variables, which stated simply are:

1. The glaze recipe
2. The clay body
3. The firing

2 & 3 Clay Body and Firing

These are easy to think about as variables in our experiments.  Usually we have a limited number of options here.  We experiment with different clay bodies by applying the same glaze recipe tests on the different bodies.  Easy.  We experiment with the firing by firing identical sets of these tests under different conditions.  Also easy.

1 The Recipe

This leaves us with the glaze recipe, and here it does get a little more involved.  We need to divide the recipe up into some sub-categories.  The easiest way to do this is to firstly divide the glaze into the base glaze and the additives.