Archive for December, 2005

After you have grasped the fundamentals and basic procedures of ceramic making, what then? Once you have learned to form a piece, glaze it and fire it, are you then ready to produce your “objet d’art”? Not quite! It is at this point that your ceramic piece can become simply one more of the thousands of nondescript ceramics or it can become the “one of a kind” piece you had hoped for- and it is precisely at this critical point that so many ceramists, teachers (and ceramic books) stop.

Oddly enough, there is a general assumption that once the basic techniques have been mastered, the rest will automatically fall in place. Unfortunately, however, all your technical knowledge will be of little value if it is not applied with imagination and good taste.

A poorly decorated piece can never become anything but a poor piece, no matter how well it has been handled prior to decorating. When your ceramic piece is ready for decoration, give this step the care and thought it deserves, remembering that whatever you do now can either bring your piece to life or kill it.

It is hoped that the subsequent chapters on decoration may stimulate the interest and imagination of the reader and may, perhaps, provide a fresh approach to this often neglected but extremely important phase of ceramics.

If a number of pieces are to be glazed with the same glaze, they may be dipped in a thin solution. (Do not use a prepared brushing-on glaze for dipping. Instead, buy the dry glaze and add water.) The solution must be thin enough so too much glaze does not adhere to the piece when it is dipped, but thick enough to provide a good coating. You must work quickly since the ware is very

Illustration 44
Dipping saves time when several pieces are to be glazed.

absorbent and, in the case of green ware, excessive soaking may cause the piece to crumble. Dip the piece in and out of the glaze solution with one continuous motion, allowing it to stand in the glaze for only a second or two. The spots where your fingers have held the piece must be touched up with a brush before firing.

It is not usually necessary to bisque fire the ware before glazing, although it is a safeguard against the problem of bubbles which sometimes appear in the fired glaze when the gases from the clay do not escape. If you plan to bisque the ware before glazing, bisque fire at about 400 lower than the usual maturing temperature. In this way, your bisque ware will still be porous enough to absorb the glaze; otherwise, you may find that the glaze does not adhere to the fully matured piece and tends to run off the high spots.

Another satisfactory way to glaze ware is by spraying. This can be done with an ordinary flit gun, a paint spray can or a spraying outfit consisting of an air compressor and a spray gun. Your glaze solution should be about the same consistency as thin milk. (Here again, do not use a brushing-on glaze for spraying.) You may find it helpful, in the case of a clear glaze, to add a non-ceramic coloring (tempera paint, vegetable dye, etc.) to make the glaze visible. Since the glaze otherwise dries to the same color as the white ware, it is difficult to see whether the piece is covered.

A spray booth will prevent the glaze from spraying all over the room and you should have, if possible, an exhaust fan so the glaze doesn’t blow back in your face during the spraying process. It is very important that you do not inhale any glaze fumes because many glazes contain lead and other toxic ingredients. If you do not have an exhaust fan, cover your nose and mouth with a cloth whenever you spray.
Using glazes to decorate your ceramic pieces is discussed in detail in Chapter IX.

Illustration 45
A spray gun is also good for glazing.