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Dyeing Clay


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coloring clay is done with oxides like iron or ochre. Rust is iron, but it is better to use processed materials or you could get a puncture from a sharp piece.

Maybe you are lucky to have an iron bearing clay nearby that your could use to deepen the color. It really depends on what you're trying to do.

Brighter colors are commercially made with rarer metals.

 

If you are pit firing, yellow ochre can give you a red earthen color if you oxidize the firing.

So, you really need to be more specific with what you are trying to do.

 

Marcia

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Natural dyes like you would use on fabric will just burn out during firing. Metallic oxides are necessary to create color in ceramics. You are welcome to scrape as much rust off my car as you want.

 

Blue can be created in glazes with iron, copper or cobalt, depending on the glaze formula and firing method. For coloring clay however, cobalt is necessary to make blue. I prefer adding it into a slip and then letting the slip dry out to a workable consistency.

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And why do you want to dye it? Are you needing a solid blue clay?

Could you use an Amaco Underglaze?

 

Marcia

 

I want to make a solid blue clay for multiple projects, then also make a marbled appearance by wedging the blue clay with with the normal white clay.

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And why do you want to dye it? Are you needing a solid blue clay?

Could you use an Amaco Underglaze?

 

Marcia

 

I want to make a solid blue clay for multiple projects, then also make a marbled appearance by wedging the blue clay with with the normal white clay.

 

 

You need to order a half pound (more or less depending on how much clay you plan to color and how dark you want the blue) of cobalt carbonate at close to $30 a pound. Cobalt carb is weaker than cobalt oxide but it is less likely to speckle and more likely to give you a smooth, even blue and much better light blues. It's strong so you will not need much. A half pound would probably color 25 lbs of clay a medium light blue. If I'm wrong here, Chris will probably correct me.

 

Jim

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  • 3 years later...

Say you added stains like cocoa powder/cinnamon or even boiled down hedge apple wood for a yellow to slip. I'm assuming it would have the same effect and burn out during the firing?

 

Yes. Anything that comes from an organic source like this will combust in the kiln. You need pigments that came out of the ground at some point.

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