Lustre

A lustre is a thin layer of metal which is deposited onto the surface of the pot during firing producing a lustrous surface. Lustres are very sought after, fabulous surfaces which can lure you in and keep you spellbound. Lustres can be coloured as golds, coppers, reds and blues, or have a colourless sheen like mother of pearl. Lustre is a very tricky technique offering spectacular results, but it can be quite difficult to achieve successfully, and this handbook aims to explain and simplify the process of creating the various types.

The book covers recipes for making your own lustres and techniques for applying and firing (all critical factors), as well as showing you the results of the author’s extensive testing to help point you in the right direction. Today one of the most commonly used lustres is a resin lustre (known as the ‘commercial’ lustre) which also contains some dangerous thinners which are known carcinogens. There is therefore an advantage to making your own lustre using more natural materials, as well as obviously getting an infinite variety of effects. This handbook covers a variety of lustres that can be made, with recipes and kiln instructions.