You know the feeling.
You spend hours on a piece. You throw it, trim it, sand it until it feels like silk. Then you stand in front of your glaze shelf and freeze.
Will it run? Will it go flat? Will it look anything like the picture on the jar?
So you pick something safe. Or you gamble on a combo you saw online, cross your fingers, and open the kiln days later to a pot you don’t recognise.
And here’s the worst part: it’s not a cheap hobby. Every disappointing firing costs you money, weeks of waiting, and a little bit of your confidence.
I asked my community about their biggest glazing frustrations, and around 150 potters answered.
The same words kept coming up:
Unpredictable. Overwhelming. Disappointing.
Not one person said they didn’t care enough. Everyone cared, but nobody had a system.
Here's the honest part:
I’m not a glaze chemist, and
that’s exactly why this works.
I’m a potter from New Zealand, a recovering perfectionist, by day a Learning & Capability Manager.
For years I filled notebook after notebook with glaze tests, disasters, and the occasional perfect result I had no idea how to replicate.
Then one day it clicked: I was teaching structured learning to hundreds of people at work, and pure chaos to myself in the studio.
So I built the framework I wish I’d had. No chemistry degrees. Just every application method tested, every mistake made on your behalf, and all of it written down so your path is shorter than mine.
I shared it with a community that has grown with thousands of potters who show up for the daily glaze conversation. This workbook is the most complete version of that conversation yet.
What's inside
27 days. One system. Yours forever.
Philosophy and the Basics
The mindset shift that changes everything.
Glazing fundamentals: tools, application, layering, masking, and the studio habits that protect your work (and your kiln shelves).
The 5 Glaze Personalities
The heart of the method.
Learn each personality, take the printable Glaze Personality Test to categorise the glazes you already own, and discover primary and secondary behaviours, including how one glaze can play two completely different roles depending on how you use it.
PLUS a list of over 30 commerical glazes for each glaze personality so you don't need to guess.
Inspiration, Mood and Form Mapping
Find your artistic voice.
Translate the places, memories and feelings that move you into glaze personalities, colour palettes, and compositions mapped onto your actual forms.
Creating with Confidence
Pull it all together.
A repeatable six step creative process, the 5 habits of confident glazers, a troubleshooting guide for when things don't go to plan, and your own signature collection, fully planned and ready to fire.
20 ready-to-use glaze combination designs built with the method, each with a visual layout map and step by step application notes. Marbling, misty horizons, breaker effects, floating mountains and more. Starting points, not recipes, so every result is still unmistakably yours.
Here's everything you get:
They got the guide first
This is how it changed everything for them
As a newbie to ceramics, I was super excited to get an early preview of Katie's The Glaze Personality Method, 27 Days to Stop Guessing Glazing. After just one glazing class, I felt like I had so much more to learn. Kayleigh's workbook has made glazing feel far less daunting and has given me the confidence to want to experiment with different techniques that she describes. She not only covered the need-to-know theory, but she inspired me to think about my own creative design journey and where that will lead. I especially loved her easy-to-follow 20 template starting points and can't wait to try some of these techniques out on my own pieces in a couple weeks. Katie's workbook is packed with her years of experience and the knowledge she has gained from her genuine love for glazing. It's a treasure trove of a resource both for beginners and experienced potters, and I think a workbook that you will want to revisit time and time again.
@kellykillin
I absolutely love this book. Katie is a talented ceramic artist, and she created a resource that is both beautiful and genuinely practical. It helped me understand glazing combinations in a way that feels approachable and inspiring. What I appreciated most is that the book gives you the confidence to experiment and develop your own style, and this is a book I'll keep close to my pottery bench and come back to often. I know it will continue to inspire and guide me as I explore glazes.
@jenlawpottery
This is such an incredible and generous resource! Katie has created so much more than a glaze guide, it really is an interactive workbook, with space to write, draw, explore and develop your own ideas. I love the way she brings together science, creativity and curiosity in such an accessible and unpretentious way. There is a wealth of in-depth glaze knowledge, including a great range of brands, but it never feels overwhelming. Instead, it encourages you to experiment, ask questions and develop your own glaze personality. I can see this being incredibly valuable for potters from complete beginners through to those wanting to deepen their knowledge. A beautifully thoughtful resource, and such a generous sharing of knowledge.
@studio.ruma
The Glaze Personality Method is amazing! I love how interactive and personal it feels! It isn’t just an informative workbook, but a journey that encourages you to document your own experiences along the way. It’s filled with so much valuable information, and I love how Katie shares her own experiences in a way that makes it feel like she’s right there guiding you through it. I would definitely recommend it to potters wanting to better understand their glazes and develop their own glazing style!
@ceranhmics
The Glaze Personality Method" by Katie Brentnall is an absolute gem for anyone interested in pottery. What makes this book stand out is its refreshing tone. It reads like a warm conversation from one close friend to another, completely free of rigid, intimidating academic jargon. Katie Brentnall breaks down complex concepts—like how glazes behave over textures, flow in the kiln, or interact with each other—using highly accessible, simple language that is easy to grasp on the very first read. This guide is a rare find because everyone can benefit from the knowledge inside and make lots of notes while reading. Complete beginners will find step-by-step clarity and the confidence to stop guessing and start choosing their finishes intentionally. Meanwhile, experienced potters will gain fresh perspective through her unique system of categorizing glazes into "personalities" (like Anchors, Movers, and Breakers) to troubleshoot and master their studio results. To be honest I never thought about glazed this way before! This book is a warm, practical companion that deserves a spot in every ceramic studio.
@magda_ceramics
Read this before you buy!
This is for you if:
This is not for you if:
Launch week pricing
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Everyone else: 10% off, this week only
Frequently asked questions
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No. This is built for commercial glazes or glazes you've already mixed yourself, the jars and bottles you already own. No chemistry required.
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Both are covered, including how to combine them.
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No. The method works on behaviour, not brand. The starter lists cover Amaco, Mayco, Spectrum and Abbots to help you shop, but any glaze can be categorised with the personality test! I use this method with the glazes I make at home too.
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It's a digital workbook designed to be printed and scribbled on, or used on a tablet.
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Most days are a short read plus a reflection or hands-on activity. Firing days are marked with a star and can happen whenever you get kiln access.
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Every firing activity has a theory path, so you can learn the method now and do the hands-on work whenever kiln access arrives. Buy it today, use it for years.
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Perfect. You'll build good habits before you build bad ones. The workbook assumes zero glaze chemistry knowledge. If you can be curious, you can do this.
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Then you already have the raw material: shelves of results you've never fully decoded. The method gives you the language and the system to finally see the patterns in your own work.
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It's a learning journey, not a deadline! Work at your own pace. It might take you a month. It might take three. It's all good.
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The core method is based on glaze behaviour, rather than specific brands or products. Glazes at every firing temperature display different personality traits, so you can use the framework to observe what your glazes do, understand how they work together, and create combinations that feel like your own.
However, the workbook was developed using electric kiln, cone 5/6 oxidation. The glaze examples, starter lists and firing-specific safety guidance are written for those conditions. If you fire at cone 10 or low fire, you can still apply the broader method, but you’ll need to identify and test the relevant glazes within your own firing range.
You can keep guessing. Or you can know.
Imagine your next firing. You're not pacing in front of the kiln hoping. You planned the piece. You chose the personalities. You know roughly what's coming, and the part you don't know is the good kind of surprise.
P.S. IF YOU ONLY READ ONE THING
I know what it feels like to stand in front of a kiln with your stomach in knots, hoping the last three weeks of work survive the next few hours.
I also know what it feels like now, on the other side of a system. It's not that every firing is perfect. It's that every firing teaches me something I can use, and most of them come out the way I planned.
That shift cost me years of chaotic notebooks. It'll cost you 27 days and one workbook.
The timer's running. Let's stop guessing together.
— Katie
Let's glaze.
The Glaze Personality Method Workbook
Stop guessing your glazes. Start understanding them.
The Glaze Personality Method is a 95-page downloadable PDF workbook that helps you make more confident, intentional glaze decisions in 27 days.
Instead of choosing combinations by colour or copying recipes online, you’ll learn to recognise five Glaze Personalities: Anchors, Movers, Floaters, Breakers and Effects. Once you understand how each glaze behaves, you can begin building combinations with purpose.
Inside, you’ll learn how to:
- Identify the personalities of the glazes you already own
- Understand how thickness, order and placement affect your results
- Work with clay, texture and form
- Turn inspiration into a practical glaze plan
- Reflect on each firing so the next one builds on what you learned
You’ll also receive printable planning sheets, reference pages and 20 adaptable glaze design starting points.
This is not a course or recipe book. It’s a practical method for replacing random experimentation with informed, creative decisions.
Digital PDF · 95 pages · Instant download · Yours forever
No secret recipes. No chemistry degree. No new glazes required.