How Many Ways Can We Think Of To Put Text On Ceramics?

[Pugaboo]

I get my laser transfer paper from decalpaper.com. I found this company through Justin Rothshanks DVD, which is great by the way I highly recommend it. There are other places that sell it as well this is just the one I have used.

 

For mason transfers you can use any kind of paper notebook, printer, unprinted newsprint, etc. Whenever possible I cut up parts of misprinted printer paper and use that since I don't like waste. Unprinted newsprint is really good for round surfaces as it has a bit more flex in it than other papers.

 

For underglaze transfers I use the cheapest printer paper Walmart sells to print my designs for coloring in.

 

I have not tried tissue transfers yet so can't recommend any particular paper for it.

 

I hope this answered your question.

 

Terry

[AnnaM]

I've found stain powder transfers work best with a paper that is a bit more absorbent, but not too absorbent (not quite paper towels!), like Terry said unprinted newsprint is good (in Australia it is super cheap, just get it from art supplies stores) I mainly use that, it soaks up the moisture from the clay and sticks quickly to it so there's less chance of smudging. I imagine that tissue paper would be the same, the only thing I would be slightly wary of is that if you are photocopying your drawings to trace and transfer, tissue paper probably wouldn't go through the printer, and you want it to have some strength when you are drawing on it over the stain powder, because you don't want it to rip if you go over a hard blip of stain powder (does that make sense?) When you're spreading the stain powder, the brush strokes of powder and water can leave quite big ripples if you're not careful that can disrupt your drawing! Like drawing on an uneven surface.

[Mark C.]

How about acid etching-theres another way to mark ceramics.

Mark

[BetsyLu]

You can transfer images/writing really simply using strain powder transfers on leather hard clay. You need:

 

*a clean ceramic tile, or more than one if you want to use more than one colour.

 

*stain powder

 

*paint brushes for mixing stain powder and water

 

*pencil

 

*paper

 

On your clean tile mix stain powder and some water and spread it evenly as possible over the tile and let dry

 

Once it's dry, take your piece of paper and pencil, lay it over the dry stain powder on the tile and write or draw what you want to transfer onto the clay or if you've printed out your artwork you can just trace the lines of your photocopy.

 

If you want multiple colors, just have different tiles ready with different colours.

 

Then just place the image/writing onto the leatherhard clay as you would a tissue transfer, but without adding extra water. And be careful when you're writing or drawing not to put too much pressure on the paper as the strain powder will stuck to the underside and then you'll get bits of extra colour on your work that you didn't intend to be there.

 

Fascinating! So it's similar to using carbon paper to transfer a graphite design on paper? 

I've never done tissue transfers... do you just press the paper on the clay and pull it back up, or do you leave the paper on the clay through the firing? Leather hard or wet clay? Thank you!

[BetsyLu]

I'm glad I started this thread, getting so many interesting ideas I had no idea were possible! Thank you all for your great suggestions and instructions

[Pres]

How about acid etching-theres another way to mark ceramics.

Mark

etching creme is the same I think.

[Pugaboo]

Anna,

 

It's interesting you put your stain on the tile thickly whereas I put mine on thinly. 2 different techniques to achieve similar or same affect? I use a small watercolor palette and place a tiny amount of mason stain in the well then add about 1/2 that amount of Gerstley Borate to the mason powder I then simply dribble a little bit of water into the well with the powders and stir it with my brush until blended it should resemble the thickness of paint for a watercolor wash. I then get a clean and I mean CLEAN tile not even any oils from your fingers on the top and basically just flood the surface with a mop brush and the pigment wash. I tilt and gently shake the tile until all the surface is covered as evenly as possible then set it aside to dry. Once dry there really isn't any visible brush marks and it's a pretty smooth surface to trace over.

 

I wonder how my method varies from yours and if whether the differences also create a different appearance with your drawn art on the pot? What do you think?

 

Terry

[AnnaM]

Mmm not sure Terry. I'll post a photo which is typical of the results. It ends up looking like it's been drawn on with a felt tip pen.

[AnnaM]

Here's a single coloured one

[ChenowethArts]

I know the original thread began with getting Text on ceramics, but all of these transfer methods (which could or could not include text) seem to me like a great list of techniques to include in a workshop, or perhaps an advanced studies course for a semester.  Seems like the biggest challenge might be getting a handle on all of the different techniques for demo purposes.  Syllabus anyone?

[Karen B]

I get my laser transfer paper from decalpaper.com. I found this company through Justin Rothshanks DVD, which is great by the way I highly recommend it. There are other places that sell it as well this is just the one I have used.

 

For mason transfers you can use any kind of paper notebook, printer, unprinted newsprint, etc. Whenever possible I cut up parts of misprinted printer paper and use that since I don't like waste. Unprinted newsprint is really good for round surfaces as it has a bit more flex in it than other papers.

 

For underglaze transfers I use the cheapest printer paper Walmart sells to print my designs for coloring in.

 

I have not tried tissue transfers yet so can't recommend any particular paper for it.

 

I hope this answered your question.

 

Terry

 

 

Thank you, it does. I assume you use a smoothly glazed tile. Is that correct?

Karen

[Pres]

I know the original thread began with getting Text on ceramics, but all of these transfer methods (which could or could not include text) seem to me like a great list of techniques to include in a workshop, or perhaps an advanced studies course for a semester.  Seems like the biggest challenge might be getting a handle on all of the different techniques for demo purposes.  Syllabus anyone?

Certainly begs for organization or categorization.

[Karen B]

I've found stain powder transfers work best with a paper that is a bit more absorbent, but not too absorbent (not quite paper towels!), like Terry said unprinted newsprint is good (in Australia it is super cheap, just get it from art supplies stores) I mainly use that, it soaks up the moisture from the clay and sticks quickly to it so there's less chance of smudging. I imagine that tissue paper would be the same, the only thing I would be slightly wary of is that if you are photocopying your drawings to trace and transfer, tissue paper probably wouldn't go through the printer, and you want it to have some strength when you are drawing on it over the stain powder, because you don't want it to rip if you go over a hard blip of stain powder (does that make sense?) When you're spreading the stain powder, the brush strokes of powder and water can leave quite big ripples if you're not careful that can disrupt your drawing! Like drawing on an uneven surface.

 

I have found that tracing paper buckles terribly when damp. I have used it extensively for transferring pencil drawings, and have to do it pretty quickly. I can't wait to try this method. 

[Pugaboo]

Chenowitharts - I have been asked to teach a class at my local arts center and in the process of doing up a class plan. I wll be limited to 6 - 3hr sessions so am limiting my techniques to mason transfer, underglaze transfer and laser transfer. I am just in the beginning stages of this.

 

Karen - yes a cheapy commercial tile from a big box store works great it's nice and smooth. You can get which ever color is cheapest but I prefer the whites so I can easily tell the difference in color of my stains between my tiles.

 

Karen (again lol) - have you ever tried using parchment paper instead of tracing paper? I use parchment paper meant to baking not super translucent more semi translucent but it's much more resilient. Depending on your printer you can even feed it through there. Only one of mine will allow me to do it and it does take some finagling.

 

Anna - here is one of mine it's a HORRIBLE photo but as I mentioned previously this piece sold before I could do what I was supposed to with it. I had just pulled it from the kiln and was going to pack it for a show when someone came in saw it and had to have it. I took a quick picture of it with my cellphone before handing it off to its new owner.

 

I am including another piece that incorporates several design techniques as well so you can see how layering and combining them adds to a piece.

 

I have just set up my light cube in preparation of photographing some pieces in an effort to get better pictures. Once I do that I'll try to add some better images to my gallery.

 

Terry

[Karen B]

@Terry, No, I never tried parchment, but I will, thanks. I don't use a printer, so I don't have to worry about that. How lucky that I happen to have some white tiles left over from a floor to use. Thank you for the help.

Karen

ps, nice work!

[paulinepdm]

I use silkscreens that I make, I love text and have made silkscreens with info to put on bottoms, like " food safe glazes", slovafe for microwave and dishwasher etc.  also made a QR code in silkscreen with message that can be revealed with smart phones.  

.

I aso apply silkscreens to greenware mostly since lately I have been single-firing both at cone 5 and cone 04.  Here is an example of text on clay.   More buried in my blog:  http://paulinesstuff.blogspot.com/   newer entries have been focused on foam cuts made with my digital cutting machine and used to create bas relief on clay.  In fact, example above used both techniques, silkscreened flat heart, then used foam cut to create bas relief flower which was later painted with colored underglazes after heart was created using hump mold I made for this purpose.  

[Jen Assinck]

BetsyLu, if you really want to have a bare clay next to food, as long as your clays are non-toxic and the pot is intended more for whole fruit, not liquid, I don't see a problem, unless you are a member of a guild that requires glazes on food surfaces (my sympathies). You can ensure future users don't put liquids in by designing a deliberately leaky vessel.  A dark stoneware clay (cone 5 to 10) that contains only iron as a colourant and is fully fired will not be toxic for the above use.  You might use the technique mentioned previously to wax your leatherhard pot, then carve through the wax. Fill carved dark clay with white clay, or the reverse, to give a contrast.  Beware of black clay, as that might contain toxic materials - check with your supplier.  For an easier to clean finished surface, you might want to compress your clay before waxing, then smooth after each firing with fine sandpaper under ventilation. I recommend you go through the bisque firing first even though you are not glazing, because raw clay requires a slower firing cycle.