Safe & Stable Glazes – Tim Thornton

This event is a two talk series on safe and stable glazes by Tim Thornton. They will cover the topics of food safety and glaze stability, enabling you to understand why some glazes may be attacked, and what you can do to minimise this happening. It will be useful to anyone who makes functional work that may go into the dishwasher or be used for food or drink.

Topics that will be covered includes

• What happens to glazes in an acidic (food) or alkaline (dishwasher) environment that can make them lose their gloss or colour due to being attacked
• Showing how to easily test for glaze stability in your kitchen or studio
• For those of you who mix up your own glazes, different approaches to create a stable glaze and advise on which glaze materials may help stabilise or destabilise glaze
• Issues around food safety, with a quick overview of the legislation (including forthcoming EU legislation on leaching limits, which may be adopted in the UK), and paperwork and testing needed to show compliance
• How food and drink interacts with ceramics, how this varies with the usage of the piece, and how to determine what makes a safe leaching level
• Which materials are likely to leach to an extent where they may cause harm, and what that may do to the users
• Look at crazing: when may it be OK, and when may it be a bad idea

Following this talk, you will get one month’s access to Tim’s technical website for free. After one month, access to the site will be at a cost of £2.50 per month if you choose to sign up.

You are committing to attend both of these talks. Please ensure you can attend both dates before you book.

Tickets will be available from 8am 12th March 2022.