After eleven years of research and ten years of writing, Anton Reijnders can breathe a bit more freely: the work is done. In The Nature of Glazes he rethinks the way we work with glazes by starting from eutectics, the phenomenon that when you fuse certain components in a specific proportion, they melt at a much lower temperature than they would individually. In glazing, eutectic compositions not only allow for much lower firing temperatures, but also result in more stable, shiny glazes.

Realising that glaze recipes depend heavily on specific ingredients available to the person who first developed them, Anton set out to find a way to base recipes on eutectic compositions, rather than on ingredients that vary from region to region and that – in a global economy – may be sourced from anywhere. What followed was a long journey of discovery into the complex interplay of chemical configurations, and the ongoing challenge to translate his findings into a consistent theory and its practical applications. The Nature of Glazes is the result of this demanding but exciting endeavour.

While The Nature of Glazes offers an introduction to glaze theory and a chapter full of interesting recipes any reader can work with, the book is more than an easy entry into glazes. “In a sense, it’s a philosophical book,” Anton says. He prefers complexity over deceiving simplifications that promise instant gratification. As such, The Nature of Glazes will be especially beneficial to those who are willing to dive in at the deep end and emerge themselves in this rich and, eventually, very rewarding treatise.

The Nature of Glazes (English, hard cover, 288 pages, ISBN 9789462588202) will be available from 3 December in shops world-wide, including the EKWC shop, for €49.95. Anton himself will be present at the upcoming EKWC Open Studios (formerly known as Test Case) to sign your copy.

You can pre order your copy, your book will be shipped after December 3.