Advancing Glazes

Master your glaze chemistry to make your artist skill meet your artistic vision.

Course Overview

The ceramic artist strives to create glaze surfaces that, as a component of concept and content, enhance form through texture and color. The beauty of ceramic glazes comes from subtle nuances of chemistry. The intermingling of silicate bonds, crystallization, and kiln atmospheres dictate the qualities of the glaze. A fundamental understanding of the principles and properties involved in glaze science is essential if the ceramic artist can exert any control in the successful outcome of the work.

Advancing Glazes will take an intensive approach to the study and analysis of glazes. Students will research the nature of glaze effects, surfaces, and colors. The focus of the course is to provide students with technical and empirical knowledge about the composition, application and fired effects of ceramic glazes and ultimately, to aid them in making better-informed decisions as they strive to realize their vision.

**We ask all students regardless of experience or education to complete Understanding Glazes before enrolling Advancing Glazes – see perquisite information below**

Sample Video

Course Outline

Hic Sunt Dracones – We have to go backwards to go forward
Introduction to Special Effect Glazes and Colors
Review, Renew, Refresh
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 1 – The Subtitles of Glaze Calculation
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 2 – Fluxes and Performance
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 3 – Glaze Durability
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 4 – Temperature and Sculpture Glazes
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 5 – Thermal Expansion
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 6 – Phase Separation
Subtleties of Stull-Pt 7 – Zinc
Iron, Man – Iron
Heavy Metal – Copper
Color Me Mine – Nature of Color
Color-ants – Function of Color
FX – Special Effects

Course Announcements

Now enrolling in July 2025 Session

Email us today to reserve your spot! info@ceramicmaterialsworkshop.com

Lecture Slide Notes – Now Available!

Level up your online learning with Matt’s official lecture notes! These comprehensive notes are the slides behind Matt in the videos. They cover all the main topics discussed in the videos, providing a valuable resource for review and study. Downloadable for your convenience, these notes will transform your learning experience as you’ll have all the key information at your fingertips.

Purchase Lecture Slide Notes

Enrollment

Choose from 2 great learning options!

Full Course Experience Option

$600

Next class with Matt’s expert guidance begins July 1st.

Full Course Experience (Email to Join)

If you want to experience the full course:

The next class session begins July 1st but you can enroll now to get early access to the lectures to get a head start!

Full experience course includes:

Matt’s expert guidance for 4 months
Work directly with Matt on project of your choosing
15 total – 1 to 2 hour on-demand lectures
Curated lab experiments for your specific project
Live bi-weekly online Q&A discussions on Wednesdays 2pm and Thursdays 8pm EST (NYC time)
Early, immediate access to the Lectures Only Advancing Glazes course to get a head start until the class begins.
Access to Course Discussion pages to ask questions
Supplemental Readings
Downloadable copies of lecture notes
Patreon option for continued access
Certificate of Completion

Course perquisite: Completion of lectures and lab experiments from Understanding Glazes are required to be completed before enrolling in Advancing Glazes. Self-guided Understanding Glazes students will be asked to provide copies of their completed lab experiments. This requirement is in place to establish the foundation that is used extensively in Advancing Glazes class.
Cost: $600 (free 3 month payment plan available)
Email us to enroll

Self Guided Option

Monthly CMW Membership

You can begin right now. Enroll and start learning today!

Self Guided

If you want just the self guided lectures:

You can start RIGHT NOW!

Self Guided includes:

15 total – 1 to 2 hour on-demand video lectures
Certificate of Completion

Cost: $90 every 3 months or $60 per month (USD)

Enroll Here!

Note this options does not include the labs, live Q&A discussions or supplemental resources (downloads, etc…). Only the on demand lectures are included.

For the best experience, please consider enrolling in Understanding Glazes before taking this course as the material presented builds upon it.

Instructor

Meet Your Instructor Matt Katz

Matt Katz has been teaching for years at world class institutions including The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Rhode Island School of Design and Harvard University.

Course Reviews

What Students are Saying

★★★★★

“You both have totally changed my ceramics, I am having the best year ever! Best thing I have done in my career was to take your courses.”

~

Ellen M. – Student, Advancing Glazes – July 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to Your Most Pressing Questions

Science? Are you going to make me learn chemistry?

Yes! Glazes are chemical reactions, and to understand them, we have to understand chemistry.

Have no fear, part of how we teach is to craft information to make it relevant and understandable for you.

But I’m an artist. Science doesn’t apply to us. We use materials differently.

Science always applies. Yes, artists have a special approach to how we think about and use materials. We have to be considerate of what it going on in our materials. Ceramics is a scientific process, even if the result is art.

The ceramics community is wonderful, but is also filled with rumors and speculation about how things work. That information is often wrong or misleading, that can lead to work not surviving the making process. We use the best information and research to teach you how your materials REALLY work. All of our teachings are backed up by research and data, no rumors or speculation.

I live in Country X, can I participate?

We’ve taught people on every continent except Antarctica (Still no kilns down there, last we heard). The great thing about glaze chemistry is that it is universal. You may have different materials, than we do, but it makes no difference to how glazes work.