Warm gold melts into soft neutrals and deep charcoal, creating a glaze effect that feels like a glowing horizon. Here's how to recreate this striking layered finish using Abbots Brushable Glazes.
Glaze layering system: Abbots Matte White, Abbots Charcoal, & Abbots Sulphur
What you’ll need:
Here’s everything you’ll need for this project:
- Abbots Matte White
- AAbbots Charcoal
- Abbots Sulphur
- Abbots Universal Medium optional, but handy!
- A bisque-fired piece (bisque-fired means the clay has been through its first firing, making it porous enough to absorb glaze)
- A medium soft brush
- A small brush (this is optional, but also handy)
- A sponge and water
- Banding wheel, potter’s wheel, or Lazy Susan (optional)
- Access to an electric kiln (firing to Cone 6)
Step-by-step
Step 1 ~ Apply 2 coats of Abbots Matte White to the top 2/3
Apply Coat 1
Give Matte White a good shake.
Using your brush and a banding wheel (if you have one), apply the first coat of Matte White to the inside of the piece and the upper two-thirds of the outside.
Leave the lower 1/3 of the outside unglazed at this stage (we’ll be glazing this with Charcoal later).
Tip: If your brush feels like it’s dragging on the bisque, try adjusting a few spoons of glaze with a drop or two of Universal Medium in a small bowl before applying your first coat. You may find this allows you a little more time to blend your brushstrokes before they dry.
Allow time for the coat to dry before applying the next one.
Apply Coat 2
Just as before, apply the second coat of Matte White to the inside of your piece and the upper two-thirds of the outside.
Again, leave the lower third unglazed.
If you used Universal Medium to adjust the first coat, try applying glaze directly from the jar for the second coat.
Any glaze adjusted with Universal Medium that’s left over can simply be popped back in the jar and mixed in, ready for next time.
Allow the second coat of Matte White to dry - this shouldn’t take long (30 seconds - 1 minute).
✨ Step 2 ~ Apply 2 coats of Abbots Charcoal to the lower 2/3
Apply Coat 1
Now it’s time to glaze the lower portion!
We’ll be using Abbots Charcoal for this step. Go ahead and give it a good shake.
As with our first coat of Matte White, you may like to try adjusting the first coat of Charcoal with a few drops of Universal Medium (optional).
Apply the first coat to the lower two-thirds of the piece, ensuring you overlap the band of Matte White at the top.
Depending on the look you are going for, you may choose to create a larger or smaller overlap between Charcoal and Matte White.
There is no need to glaze the inside of your piece with this glaze.
Allow to dry before moving to the second coat.
Apply Coat 2
As with the first coat, glaze the lower portion (I’ve gone for the lower two-thirds) of your piece with the second coat of Charcoal.
Don’t forget to create that overlap.
Leave to dry before moving on to the final step.
✨ Step 3 ~ Apply 2 coats of Abbots Sulphur to the middle 1/3
Apply Coat 1
This is the final step of the process! Once you’ve given your jar of Abbots Sulphur a good shake, you’ll find it goes surprisingly quickly!
Working on the middle third of the exterior only, apply a band of Sulphur to your desired width.*
This step is made a little easier with a smaller brush, if you have one to hand (optional).
Allow to dry before moving to the second, and final, coat.
Tip:
More overlap with Matte White = more gold
More overlap with Charcoal = more bronze
Apply Coat 2
Once the first coat has dried, apply the final coat of Sulphur to the middle section of your piece.
Allow your piece to dry before firing.
Step 4 ~ Firing
Wipe any glaze drips from the underside of your piece before firing.
Fire to Cone 6 (~1200C) in an electric kiln.
You can find a suggested firing schedule here.
Tip: Wipe your glaze jars before putting the lids back on. This makes opening them so much easier next time.
✨ Notes & suggestions
If you don’t have these three glazes available, other combinations that work beautifully include:
Other combinations that work beautifully include:
- Abbots Matte White (top band)
- Abbots Rust (lower band)
-
Abbots Fawn (middle band)
- Abbots Matte white (top band)
- Abbots Black Oilspot (lower band)
-
Abbots Tea Dust (middle band)
I suspect that Abbots Sahara Speckle or Abbots Heron Grey would also work well in place of Matte White.Why not give them a whirl?
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About the author:
A self-confessed glaze nerd, Amy is a content creator for Abbots Glaze on a mission to get people excited about glazing! When she’s not making reels or testing new glaze recipes, you can find Amy making pots in her pottery studio, Palmerston North. You can follow Amy’s work on Instagram @fettlepotterynz