Friday, January 30th, 2009
The technique known as Spatter Ware or Sponge Ware was developed in England early nineteenth century. It was a very popular technique for inexpensive pottery and ceramic ware. Even today, if you peruse the home interior and accent catalogs, you will see evidence of this technique in current decorating trends. The technique lends itself to most any decorating theme and though blue and brown was the most prevalent colors, modern day artists and decorators utilize a multitude of color choices.
The process is relatively simple and requires little skill. Color is applied in a web-like pattern using a sponge. Silk, or natural sponges work best as they have a coarser weave (pattern of holes). The artist can opt for all over application or selected areas. Though originally intended for use with glazed items, it can be modified for use on non-fired finishes.
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Friday, January 30th, 2009
Primarily, ceramic slip is clay that has been thinned down with water and sometimes additional chemicals to be used for various purposes in the field of clay arts. It is clay mixed with water to a smooth gravy-like, liquid consistency.
In pottery, it is used for decorating or coating the crafted items as well as acting like a glue or paste to adhere parts together. In ceramics, it is used to cast plaster molds creating images and shapes as well as various finishing techniques.
It is called slip because of its smooth, slippery consistency… a texture without roughness, smooth to the touch. The term comes from Middle English: slime, from Old English: ‘slypa’ or ‘slyppe’ and also has Indo-European roots: sleubh. Just step in the middle of a puddle of it on your floor and you will understand completely. It is well named.
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
It doesn’t matter if you are a novice or have years of experience, when you work with ceramics there is bound to be problems.
Some of them can be repaired, others can be modified, and others make good targets for skeet shooting.
If you encounter a problem or have any questions, feel free to post it here and we can discuss it, or send an email and we will try to help you find a solution or answer.
While you are here, you may wish to visit the site and read some of the articles already written, they may answer many of your questions.
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Monday, January 26th, 2009
In a nutshell, greenware is raw clay. Clay that has not been fired or ‘baked’. Potters throw pots and until they are fired, they are greenware. It does not matter if an item has been sculpted by hand, cast with a mold, earthenware, porcelain, stoneware or any other form of clay, until it is fired it is raw or greenware.
While in the unfired state, it can be broken quite easily. Most fragile is cast porcelain, then cast earthenware, then sculpted bodies. This is primarily because of the density and thickness of the item as well as the fragility of the clay body.
When handling raw clay ware, it is important that you support the bottom rather than trying to pick it up from the top as the weight causes stress and can cause the piece to snap and or crumble.
In its raw form, most clays can be crushed and recycled; however once fired, they cannot. There are two major differences between clay bodies – Low-fire and high-fire. Low-fire clays are those that require lower temperatures to reach maturity as opposed to those which require higher temperatures.
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
The most important thing about caring for your mold is to understand that they need to be kept clean and dry.
When you get a new mold from a manufacturer, it can often arrive wet. You need to make sure they are thoroughly dry before you begin casting them. There are several ways to do this, but the best way is to let them dry naturally. Options to speed the process would be to set the unopened, still banded mold on a pad of thick paper, or chalk board, or carpet. These ‘pads’ will help absorb and draw the moisture out of your mold. Every few hours, turn the mold over to one of its sides. Repeat this for a day or two. Your mold should dry by then. You can also set your mold, again banded and unopened, in the sun, rotating it every hour or so. DO NOT leave it in one position in the sun all day, it will dry unevenly and could warp.
DO NOT – open the mold and dry it with the parts separated
DO NOT – put it in or on your heated kiln or oven to dry
Drying your mold too fast will only result in warping and/or stress cracking the mold.
When not in use, you should clean the mold inside and out and store them tightly banded on wooden shelves. If wood shelves are not possible, then line the shelves with thick layers of paper, chalk board (what is used for walls-cut to fit) or other absorbent padding. Store the mold with the pour gate (openings) down if at all possible. This will prevent dust and little critters from crawling inside. See casting instructions to learn how to clean your mold. If you can, you might want to use cut up boxes or card board and cover the pour holes, anchoring them in place with your bands.
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
A ceramic mold is made of plaster. It is made to create a shape or object using clay or slip (liquid clay).
A mold can have one piece, referred to as an open pour, open cast or press mold. Most commonly, molds have two or more pieces which fit together like a puzzle creating a casing to hold liquid clay or ‘Slip’. Open pour or press molds are one piece molds that can be used with slip or by pressing clay into them.
The clay takes on the shape of the cavity of the mold and is then removed, processed and fired.
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Lusters (Mother of Pearl, Mardi Gras, Halos) are chemically induced special effects that create a touch of elegance to glazed items. These are iridescent over-tints of varying color and degrees of translucency.
Applied unevenly which is its purpose to create the greatest effect. Can be applied to any color of glaze with differing results. No two pieces turn out the same.
When EPA and CPA got involved in the field of paint production, many of the wonderful lusters were taken off the market in the USA; however some manufacturers are making great strides in duplicating some of them.
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Fired Gold, Platinum, Silver are somewhat tricky to learn. Not difficult, but touchy and temperamental. These precious metals are suspended in a liquid and do not look at all like you would expect. Different brands have a color agent in them to help you see where you paint them. There are different grades, especially with the gold. Some is 14k, 12k, 10k etc. The metallic is released during the firing process. The resulting sheen will be affected by the sheen of the glaze. Gloss glazes will give a high sheen and Matte glazes with give a satin sheen.
Metallics are intended to go over a glazed item, but may also be used on prepared, fired porcelain bisque. The final results will never be shiny, but rather a matte, antique, burnished effect.
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Fired Decals are one of the most popular over glazes. They are painted pictures or graphics that are adhered to a plastic type film in reverse. This film is attached to a special paper backing, sandwiching the paint between the plastic and paper. Decals can come opaque or semi-transparent, so it is important to know this before applying to your glazed item. If you have a dark background, you will need an opaque decal or it will not show up.
Decals are fired on the ceramic item and become permanently affixed.
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Sunday, January 25th, 2009
An over glaze is anything that is applied OVER fired glazes to produce special effects. This can include: decals, china paints, gold, silver, and lusters like Mother of Pearl, Halo Gold, Weeping Silver, Weeping Gold, etc. One note: Metallics like gold, silver and platinum can be applied to unglazed porcelain bisque because of its lack of porosity; however the effect is considerably different.
In all of the above cases, the over glaze is fired on after application. This is usually a much cooler firing which reaches temperatures just hot enough to mature it and bond it to the glaze. If fired too hot, the over glaze most often will burn off.
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