Watercolor Marker? To Make Marks On Clay?

[Gwendeanne]

A couple months ago, I was watching a video sent to me by ceramic arts daily. I don't remember the topic.

One of the comments under the video was by a forum member saying they use a

watercolor marker on paper and while it's wet they press it on the greenware clay, so one can see the design they want to

make on the clay. I suppose the maker eventually burns off. I'd like to do this for carving some designs on leather hard clay.

 

I asked at a couple painters and at a local hobby store and nobody has ever heard of this "watercolor marker".

 

Does anyone know what this might be.

 

Thanks.

[missholly]

im not sure about a watercolor marker, but i know you can use food coloring.

its one of kristin kieffers methods.

[Rob Hendriks]

On leatherhard clay you can also use a brush loaded with watercolor paint to draw a pattern.This paint disappear after firing and glazing.

[TamarackPottery]

I use markers & tracing paper to transfer designs to carve or cutout. The ink doesn't soak into the tracing paper as much as regular paper (thanks to Sandy Pierantozzi for that tip)

 

I usually do it when the clay is leather hard, but still a little moisture in it. sometime I mist the clay with a water bottle if it's too dry to pickup the marker.

 

I'm not sure if what I use is a "Watercolor Marker" but it is water soluable. They come in sets - I think I bought a big one at either AC Moore or Michaels quite a few years ago.

I don't have the box in front of me, but the marker has this written on the side

MARVY MARKER artisit color 1300 JAPAN NO. 33

 

 

A couple months ago, I was watching a video sent to me by ceramic arts daily. I don't remember the topic.

One of the comments under the video was by a forum member saying they use a

watercolor marker on paper and while it's wet they press it on the greenware clay, so one can see the design they want to

make on the clay. I suppose the maker eventually burns off. I'd like to do this for carving some designs on leather hard clay.

 

I asked at a couple painters and at a local hobby store and nobody has ever heard of this "watercolor marker".

 

Does anyone know what this might be.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

[Idaho Potter]

Watercolor markers are the ones you buy for children's use. Non-permanent markers are available in most grocery stores where/if they also sell color crayons. Found out by accident (babysitting a grandchild) that crayons are also good for resist drawings. It is wax, isn't it? A child, crayons, bisque ware, and some glazing on your part makes a good gift for someone else in the family--plus it makes for a memorable afternoon.

[diana]

A couple months ago, I was watching a video sent to me by ceramic arts daily. I don't remember the topic.

One of the comments under the video was by a forum member saying they use a

watercolor marker on paper and while it's wet they press it on the greenware clay, so one can see the design they want to

make on the clay. I suppose the maker eventually burns off. I'd like to do this for carving some designs on leather hard clay.

 

I asked at a couple painters and at a local hobby store and nobody has ever heard of this "watercolor marker".

 

Does anyone know what this might be.

 

Thanks.

 

[diana]

someone else mentioned a video/workshop with Sandy P. she uses a water based marker to mark working lines on her pieces. Many of us, after taking her workshop last pre-NCECA in PHL - went off to Blicks to purchase a water based marker. I found a marker - made in japan , with the name TOMBO ABT acid free, in a couple of different colors.

 

I use it directly on the leatherhard work or drawing out a design on "trash paper" - the thin tracing paper I used in drafting/architecture classes. put the marker side on the clay surface and traced over it with a dull pencil or ballpoint pen - voila! there was my image on the clay surface.

 

I don't know if the stores like michaels and ac moore carry this type of "marker" - it was about $5.00 each - but real art supply places should have it.

 

hope this helps

[terraforma]

I use a Sharpie permanent felt tip pen to mark and draw on my leatherhard and bisque ware - leaves a great clear dark line and burns off in firing (both bisque firing and cone 10 - that's the only firing I do right now).

[Natas Setiabudhi]

Yap I had used Water color marker too for tracing a pattern, a black one is best. For the best result, the clay is still little bit moist. Even when bisque state, you can still marker on it.

[minspargal]

If you are talking about carving leatherhard, i use a piece of plastic sheeting that i have drawn the design on with a sharpie marker. Then i lay the plastic over the tile i want to crave and press the lines with a dull pencil. You can use the same plastic many times.

[Gwendeanne]

Hi All,

I'm the original poster on this question. What helpful ideas. Thanks. I thought I'd let you know what I ended up doing.

I decided to buy the Tombo marker. I bought it at a specialty art store in Denver.

I happened to have some vellum left over from a Christmas card project, so I used it for the paper part of this project.

 

Here is what I did to test it out. I used a Tiffany lamp company book, chose a great close up of a lamp shade, placed the vellum paper on it. I was able to see through the vellum.

I took the Tombo black marker (I bought blue too) and traced the lines of the lamp shade photo. It was sort of mosaic looking. While the maker stayed wet on the vellum, I took the vellum and placed it wet maker side down the freshly rolled slab of clay, and the maker design ended up on the clay, just as a I wanted. I took a tool and carved away the lines.

I'm sure waiting until it was leather hard to carve would have been better, but I was just testing out the Tombo and vellum process.

I wish I would have thought to take photos to attach.

 

So, this process works great. I can't wait to try it out again.