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Creative Glazes
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Ceramics 101
Painting your bisque
After firing, greenware is called bisque. The bisque
is finished with underglaze for bisque, glazes or non-fired paints. Here we
will only concentrate on the fired glazes and underglazes.
Before you
begin painting always be sure to wipe your ceramic piece down with a damp
sponge. This will ensure that there is no dust on your piece which could cause
the glaze to pull away and leave a bare spot. It will also help prepare the
bisque to accept the glaze. A dry piece of bisque could instantly absorb all
the moisture in the glaze, causing your brush to grab. Glaze and underglaze
should flow smoothly from the brush.
Underglaze for bisque is generally
used for detail painting, though it can be used to cover the entire piece if
you so desire. This is where you would use Duncan's Concepts for Bisque. Use an
appropriate sized brush, not too small. For long flowing lines, use a liner,
loading it carefully so the paint flows freely from the bristles.
After
painting your detail on the piece you should use a sponge or lightly brush on
the first coat of clear glaze. Allow this first coat to dry, then paint on two
more coats, being careful not to smear your detail paint. Or you can dip the
piece in a clear dipping glaze. (See Learning how to use
Dipping Glaze)
If you are coating your piece with glaze, paint three
flowing coats of a color of your choice glaze on your piece, being careful of
brushstrokes which could show up in unleaded glazes. If you are applying
crystal glaze you should pick up the crystals and apply to the piece while
applying the third coat of glaze. Do not place crystals too near the bottom of
the piece or you could end up having little glaze 'feet' holding your piece up
in the air - or even sticking it to the kiln shelf.
Another idea is to
paint your bisque with three smooth coats of white satin glaze, SN352. When
completely dry paint details on the glaze using either EZ Strokes or Concepts.
For instance, you could use shades of blue for an Oriental look. When the
design is complete fire to cone 06. No further glaze is necessary. This is
called Majolica style painting. For fun you could paint over other satin glaze
colors like pink, banana or even key lime.
Put in the most simplistic
terms, glaze is made up of glass particles which melt at high temperatures and
chemically fuse with the bisque during the firing process in the kiln.
Therefore, glazed bisque pieces must be stilted on special stands made of
nichrome wire and must not touch each other, or anything else in the kiln, or
else they will be fused together. There is nothing more disappointing than
finding your piece glued to the kiln shelf! It happens to everyone at some
point and that's why you should always coat your kiln shelves with kiln
wash.
After loading the kiln, the firing process takes many hours. The
kiln is heated to a temperature of about 1873 degrees F (for a cone 06 firing),
ensuring that the glaze has properly matured. The kiln is then allowed to cool
for at least as long as it was heated. When completely cool, the kiln is
unloaded and the stilt marks are carefully removed from the bottom of each item
using a dremel tool with green ceramic bit, an emery board or a stilt stone. If
you wish, you can cover each stilt mark with clear sealer or clear nail
polish.
Consult your kilndealer to learn the particulars on the proper
firing of your kiln.
Page 6 - Ceramics 101
Simple, Secure, Convenient - Creative Glazes.
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