Revisiting Egyptian Paste

This research was made possible by the 2025 NCECA Environmental Sustainability Fellowship. This project centered around possibilities of self-glazing ceramic formulations, inspired by Egyptian Paste, as a more sustainable option to the traditional ceramic process. The primary objective of this project was to take contemporary methodologies and experiment with self-glazing, low-fire materials historically associated with Egyptian Paste. Reduction in firings, temperature, and firing time were the main goals. Workability, printability, and deformation in firing results were other important metrics. In an effort to reduce energy use, I focused on very low ceramic temperatures from under Cone 022 to Cone 019. All of the samples were once-fired to eliminate the traditional use of bisque firing.