alchemist Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 Hello all, I am a virtual newcomer to ceramics, but I am jumping in quick on this project. I am making 5 large-scale clay sculptures from a clay body called "sculpture mix". By large scale, I mean that each work is 3 x 3 feet and is about 10 inches tall. They are actually piles of dog poop that I have scaled up to that size. I would like to glaze them to be as gold as gold itself, and a reputable source recommended a gloss black underglaze and a gold lustre "glaze" on top of that. I am wondering if anyone out there has experience with large-scale gold lustre glazings, because I need all the advice I can get. The glaze is appropriately expensive and I will be purchasing a lot of it to cover all five works. Also, I am on the look-out for a good source from which to buy the gold lustre, if anyone could speak to that? I really really appreciate any informative and thorough answers. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justanassembler Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 Hello all, I am a virtual newcomer to ceramics, but I am jumping in quick on this project. I am making 5 large-scale clay sculptures from a clay body called "sculpture mix". By large scale, I mean that each work is 3 x 3 feet and is about 10 inches tall. They are actually piles of dog poop that I have scaled up to that size. I would like to glaze them to be as gold as gold itself, and a reputable source recommended a gloss black underglaze and a gold lustre "glaze" on top of that. I am wondering if anyone out there has experience with large-scale gold lustre glazings, because I need all the advice I can get. The glaze is appropriately expensive and I will be purchasing a lot of it to cover all five works. Also, I am on the look-out for a good source from which to buy the gold lustre, if anyone could speak to that? I really really appreciate any informative and thorough answers. Daniel gold leafing might be easier--gold lustre can be tricky sometimes. Generally underglazes are matte, and if you want a gloss surface, you want to apply the luster to a glazed/fired glossy surface as the lustre will take on the characteristic of the surface beneath it. I haven't had cause to buy lustres in a long time, I heard murmurs that hanovia wasnt producing any longer, but beyond that im no help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 1st find enough luster -you may have to get this from a non USA supplier. Next try it on some small test forms before trying it large scale. Good luck-also keep in mind the fumes are extremley nasty and you should read up all the safty info on it. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JBaymore Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 I did about a year of consulting work for an industrial archetectural fine ceramics company that was doing large scale works completely covered with gold lustre (believe it or not.... tile, sinks, toilets, bathtubs). You are facing a lot of techincal challenges. Forget using the "hobby ceramics" quality of gold lusters... you probably need to get the material from the manufacturers of the materials. They have gold products that are much more reliable, and that are more durable. However... their gold content is higher.... so the cost goes up FAST. They sell only in bulk......minimum order is high.... in the thousands of dollars. http://www.colour.ma...metals/brushing And that is also a hurdle you are talking about here. Coverage to get consistent results needs to be adequate. For the scale you are talking there ........ you are going to need a mortgage . I use gold luster myself a bit and use the higher qualities from these folks and I have thousands of dollars tied up in a few relatively small containers of the stuff. DUST will be your enemy. You need to have a working environment where the drying luster coatings do not pick up ANY dust. Kiln venting is crucuial. Large coverage areas and using large volumes of lusters brings up "industrial" levels of ventilation issues for safe useage. When I was working in the factory with this stuff going on, we had serious ventilation and I was always wearing a respirator (for the carriers) and I STILL had a health issue crop up from exposure. best, ......................john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted June 26, 2013 Report Share Posted June 26, 2013 Giant money gold dog poop-well thats different I know a potter who specializes in luster pots-He sells huge pots (2-4 feet tall) covered in gold lusters to places like Las Vegas casinos . His name is Bruce fairman. He works in Sacramento for part of the year and lives in asia the other part.Google him to see his work. You could look him up. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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