Underglaze Issue

[KaMaril]

Are underglazes thick enough to be used it a cake decorator or something you could squeeze it out of to make the design on your ware or do you have to use a brush and paint it on?

[bciskepottery]

Are underglazes thick enough to be used it a cake decorator or something you could squeeze it out of to make the design on your ware or do you have to use a brush and paint it on?

By itself, probably not. But, you could add underglaze (or Mason stains or oxides) to a thicker clay slip and use the icing decorator to apply it to wares. You will need to find a consistency for the slip that is comparable with the stage of your pottery, e.g., soft leatherhard, leatherhard, so that the two dry together and do not crack.

[Mark C.]

The running at least for me is fine-I know you are not happy but its just another effect and really not bad.

Mark

[Chantay]

KaMaril,  I was able to use frosting tips with slips that were colored with Mason stains.  What worked for me was using Darvon and then adding more clay till I was able to achieve a suitable thickness.

[Benzine]

Terry, recently I have found the dark blue looks much better, with clear over top. I'm still not a fan of it, sans a transparent clear, but it's not too bad with it.

[Pugaboo]

benzine - I just did a drink carrier and cup set using the dark blue to create the design and I am really happy with it. I have a picture of it in my camera that I will try and remember to get it and upload so you can see it tomorrow.

 

I found that the Amaco Zinc free clear is critical in the dark blue working. It's still extremely touchy and when I use it I fire all the pieces with it on them on the same shelf at the same time in the kiln and allow space between each piece as well. It's a very pretty blue when it works and I have been determined to make it do so.

 

I have also found that it really pops on a surface when you paint white underglaze on first then the dark blue even though I use little loafers white stoneware it's not as white as it needs to be to really contrast with the dark blue.

 

That's pretty much it for now my show at the gallery starts Thursday and I dropped off all my pieces yesterday for them to arrange. I am thinking maybe I'll take a couple days off .... Naw but I will just go down to the studio, and yes I will say it....PLAY.

 

Terry

[bciskepottery]

I have also found that it really pops on a surface when you paint white underglaze on first then the dark blue even though I use little loafers white stoneware it's not as white as it needs to be to really contrast with the dark blue.

Save yourself some money . . . apply a white porcelain slip over the Little Loafers and you can get all of your underglazes to look brighter. Less expensive than applying white underglaze as a base.

[Pugaboo]

Bcisk - I've never used a slip before how does it work?

 

I've thought about doing it I just haven't gotten around to studying the process. What little I do know is that if your slip and clay are not compatible the slip with flake or crack off. I haven't a clue yet as to how to know if your are doing it right. I'd also like to set a really dark clay and apply white slip over it and then carve into it but again haven't gotten to the point I even know how to begin... Can you recommend a book or video?

 

Terry

[bciskepottery]

For use with Little Loafers, I slaked down a gifted bag of Highwater's Helios porcelain. I apply a thin coat with a hake brush to items while they are still on the wheel or at medium to leatherhard. I've had no problems with flaking or cracking off because the application is thin and the coating is applied when the wares are still damp. Basically, I dip the brush in water, then pick up some slip on the brush, then apply it to the wares. Think thin as in terra sig thickness. Don't confuse with thicker slips used for texture building like Steven Hill. I started doing this when I began working on the Chinese brush painting technique; LL was nice but we wanted something brighter.

 

For the kohiki slip wares I make (see my icon) I use a slip made from a recipe Akira Satake handed out:

 

Goldart, 3 lbs. (30%)

Kaolin - EPK, 5 lbs. (50%) [Akira also uses Grolleg or Tile 6 for a whiter slip and Helmar for woodfired items]

Custer Feldspar, 1 lbs. (10%)

Silica, 1 lbs. (10%)

 

Add about 4 to 4 1/2 quarts of water, stir, sieve, and enjoy. This makes a 2 to 3 gallon bucket full of slip.

 

I also apply that slip by hake brush to slabs, wares, either while still on the wheel or while soft to medium leatherhard. Let set up and carve away. On the avator, the clay body is Laguna's Dark Brown.

 

Or, add some oxides or mason stains to the slip, brush on, and carve to show the white clay body.

[Pugaboo]

Bcisk - Thank you so much! Next time I order some clay I will get a bag of Helios to try. I might even get a bag of a really dark clay to try and carve as well. If I can get the slip to work as you have instructed it could save me money and even offer additional creative methods for decorating my stuff.

 

Terry

[Pugaboo]

I wanted to show everyone a drink carrier and tumbler set I made using Amaco Dark Blue. I am very pleased with the way it turned out especially after so many dismal or so so tests that I was not happy with. I painted the entire thing with 2 coats of Amaco LUG White underglaze then did 1 coat with Amaco LUG Dark Blue for the blue flowers and dots. I want to experiment with white slip as several have mentioned its cheaper than underglaze but white underglaze is what I had on hand. You can't see it in the picture but the inside bottom of each section is glazed with Coyotes cobalt blue glaze and it really sets off the blue flowers and dots.

 

I hope this gives those of you hope for Amacos dark blue LUG as you can see it CAN be a pretty blue.

 

Terry

[clay lover]

Very cool!  was the carton done with stiff slabs?

  great design.

[Pugaboo]

Yes the carrier was made using slabs that I let set up until stiff. I sometimes roll slabs out and cut box "blanks" a bunch at a time and let them set up a bit then place thin sheets of plastic between them and slip a stack into gallon baggies for later use. I have stored unassembled boxes like this for up to a month before building the actual box. You can see more boxes I have done in my gallery. I think boxes are my favorite things to make right now. The handle is a fat extruded round bar that I rolled slightly to flatten it out a bit.

 

Terry