Some times the artist wants to show off the nice color or texture of the clay and choice do not glaze it, this is especially true for techniques where colored clays make nice designs. Unglazed ceramics is better used only for dry food unless it is treated for use with liquids and protected from dust. Again, be assured of it by the potter him or herself.

Glazes

Glazing ceramics has not only the objective of making it beautiful, but also to make the piece impervious to water and to make it easier to clean.

Now, there are quite a variety of glazes: matt, semi matt, velvet matt, glossy, crystal glazes, metal-saturated and so on. Some of these are not commended for tableware.

Mat glazes

If you like mat glazes choice velvet or semi mat, better than dry mats. Mat glazes might be susceptible of scratching when used with fork and knives: this is an ugly feature especially for the white colored ones where grey lines show off the knife work. Also, spoon, forks and knives are noisy on matt glazes and for this reason they are not the usual choice at restaurants and hotels. It is difficult to imagine a formal dinner where a silence pause is only broken by the scratching of the cutlery on the plates.

Obviously, this is no problem in countries where chopsticks are used, yet still matt glazes are not considered the best choice for tableware submitted to intense use, as they are not completely impervious to water and difficult to clean.

At home, there is no reason why you should not enjoy mat glazed ware, salad bowls, plates or chargers as table centers, yet it is wise to provide melamine, plastic or wood spoons and/or forks for self helping.

I like crystal glazes and think that users enjoy them as well, they enhance the shape of the thing, so for certain kind of tableware as cups and goblets and for others I use them in the outside of the piece, where there is no contact with food.  I prefer to make them very small, incipient so do not present the above said problem. Very little stars-like either colored or white they look very nice on a contrasting or harmonizing background. For safety I fire them very small as to be still part of the glaze instead of an outstanding different thing.

Glossy glazes usually endure with grace dishwashing machines and cutlery scratching. Easy to clean they do not accumulate food in crevices, nor they allow liquids to permeate outside. Smooth as they are, glossy glazes are the ideal thing for tableware.

understood, can not be included among crystallized ones without controversy, because they do not make crystals but their accumulations “float” beautifully on the surface of the piece.

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