Ceramic Tile Making & Glazing Experience at the Haddenham Arts Centre - August 2026
- siloutaggart
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Yesterday's ceramic tile making & glazing workshop I taught at the Haddenham Arts Centre was attended by a lovely group of students who immersed themselves in the world of clay; designing beautiful coasters & tiles - learning how to apply "sprigs" (low-relief clay shapes that are made separately from the main work and then attached using slipping and scoring) and ultimately creating some unique and lovely designs.
I provided everyone with plenty of reference materials, sample tiles, mark-making equipment, sprig moulds and stamps. Simon and I are very impressed with everyone's work featuring designs including sunflowers, fish, dragonflies, botanicals, and patterns! It was a joy to watch the themes and designs develop throughout the morning - some students opted for a flatter design that could be used practically as a coaster or trivet, and others chose to add 3D sprigs and embellishments to their decorative tiles and coasters.
After lunch, everyone learnt how to apply underglazes to their work.
They discovered how to build up layers of colour on the clay in its "green" state, and use techniques such as "sgraffito" (a decorative techniques that is used in pottery where a design is created by scratching through a layer of glaze to reveal the underlying contrasting layer or the clay itself - it comes from the Italian word "graffiare," meaning "to scratch"). A heat gun was on hand to help with drying in between coats ... but the temperatures were fairly high so drying wasn't really an issue!
After making it back unscathed, despite the bumpy Fen roads, the lovely work is now going to dry completely in my studio. The tiles and coasters will be bisque fired. I'll then provide a coat of transparent glaze to each tile to allow a fabulous glossy sheen to develop when they are fired again in the kiln - this time at 1250°C.
We'll put up some photos of the finished pieces once they've emerged from the kiln but do enjoy the shots here that were taken during the workshop, along with a couple of videos showing everyone at various stages.
It was a really enjoyable, creative day!
If you missed out on this tile making & glazing experience, I'll be returning to the Haddenham Arts Centre on 27 February 2027 for the same workshop.
Here's the link:
We hold LOTS of workshops and experiences at our Blended Monkey Studios in Upwell, and a number of workshops at the Haddenham Arts Centre and the Farmland Museum & Denny Abbey.
Check out our website for all the wonderful experiences from fused glass through to stone carving!
All our workshops make lovely crafty GIFTS & you can also purchase open certificates so the lucky recipient can choose their own experience.
Here's the link for our gift certificates:
We can also provide private ceramics experiences for parties or friend groups. We can come to you, host in the Blended Monkey studios, or at a venue of your choice!
Such a lovely, creative group!
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