MajolicaManiac Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 Hi Everyone, I am new to the community and am wondering how major an undertaking it would be to paint my own kitchen tiles ? I am comfortable painting, but to paint ceramic tile would be completely new territory. Does anyone have some advice on how to begin the process ? Do I need instruction first do you think or can I just find my own way ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 1 minute ago, MajolicaManiac said: Hi Everyone, I am new to the community and am wondering how major an undertaking it would be to paint my own kitchen tiles ? I am comfortable painting, but to paint ceramic tile would be completely new territory. Does anyone have some advice on how to begin the process ? Do I need instruction first do you think or can I just find my own way ? I have seen painted tiles with acrylics. I think very doable and reasonable if you are adding designs. Picking a medium that is reasonably sturdy would be key and then I think if you bought a sample tile or two from a big box store you could check the durability of your painted medium. Ceramic artists often decorate tiles before their final firings so they are extremely sturdy. Considerably more than any painted finish. If you are a brush artist and prefer a medium then I suggest trying on sample tiles first, else regular acrylics should be decent and there is a product / paint called porcelain which is quite sturdy on ceramics but the color pallet might be limiting. Best ideas that pop into my head at present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajolicaManiac Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 oh Thank you Bill ! I am actually thinking of painting blank bisque tile with glazes and having a ceramic studio fire them for me..... think this is possible ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajolicaManiac Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 I recently painted some Delft inspired needlepoint canvases ( I am a design and paint needlepoint ) and it got me thinking maybe I could paint some actual tile for my kitchen and laundry room... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 12 minutes ago, MajolicaManiac said: oh Thank you Bill ! I am actually thinking of painting blank bisque tile with glazes and having a ceramic studio fire them for me..... think this is possible ? Yes, very possible and done quite often you will probability want to glaze the tile fully to water proof it, so how to decorate. If you use low fire clay and glaze (cone 04j then there are many options and color retention is a bit easier.. Underglaze then clear, stroke and coat style lowfire glaze or even china paint which goes on the finished glaze and is refired to a low temp. pictures below to get you thinking and googling. underglaze and clear matte over design sugar bowl china painted gold design over finish glazed trinket box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajolicaManiac Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 Thank you Bill ! I will def start googling !! I need to learn all the vocabulary and those are lovely examples of your work. Are you from Palos Heights Il by any chance ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 17 minutes ago, MajolicaManiac said: Thank you Bill ! I will def start googling !! I need to learn all the vocabulary and those are lovely examples of your work. Are you from Palos Heights Il by any chance ? My wife is the artist and we are presently in Lisle. My job is to throw the shape and make sure her colors don’t change! Kidding a bit here, she is truly a wonderful portrait artist that enjoys throwing as well. Simple designs are common but there are those that virtually paint portraits using multiple coats, multiple firings, correct shade and shadow etc.... I have attached a picture of a gemstone my wife was working on using underglazes at midfire temps to give an idea of the possibilities. She decided to study refractive theory of crystals and how to recreate them. My job was to make a clear glaze that would not ruin her hard work .... or else! Anyway this stuff can be as simple or as complex as one would like to pursue. Gemstone was a lot of work, and I don’t think she was satisfied but I added some other examples as well hopefully to inspire some ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajolicaManiac Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 She is very Talented and I think you must be doing a good job judging from your images Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 My husband is also a talented two dimensional artist, it is wonderful being married to another artist. We understand each others passion to make our art work and the time it involves. I have made a thousand majolica tiles, if you need and help or tips just ask. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MajolicaManiac Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 2 hours ago, Denice said: My husband is also a talented two dimensional artist, it is wonderful being married to another artist. We understand each others passion to make our art work and the time it involves. I have made a thousand majolica tiles, if you need and help or tips just ask. Denice OMGosh YES !!!!! I would Love your advice !! Do you have an Instagram account where you feature your work ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 I don't have any Facebook or Twitter accounts, my sisters fight with each other on the internet. If I had any of these accounts they would just drag me into the fights. I had a photo of a 9ft fountain I made with majolica tile on this site but it got lost in one of the sites reshuffle. I made my own tile and fired it at C 1 so my glaze formula wouldn't work for you. I used Laguna red terracotta and put a stain in my glaze so it would look like old Talavera tile. Linda Arbuckle has a great C04 majolica glaze formula, if she has a book on the market you should get it as a research material. I made stencils for the patterns on the tiles, I punched small holes in them with a sewing punch marker. After I glazed the tiles and let them dry I would lay the stencil on them and make up some thick instant coffee to apply on top of the holes I made with the punch. I would go back and connect the dots and recreate the pattern, this would give me a repeatable matched pattern for a tile wall. You will have to decide how you want to apply your glaze, I pour glaze on the tiles, this gave me a flat surface to paint on. I put the tile on a large rack over a plastic box. If you decide to try this method I will have to give you some more tips. You can brush, spray or dip, you just have to figure out what works for you. This info will get you started, painting the pattern is next but you need to work on first part. If you are planning to paint murals I can help you with that also after you have made some tiles. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Make sure you've lined up someone to fire them before you begin the project. Be very clear about the number of tiles you'll need fired, because firing tiles is different than firing pots. They take up a lot of shelf space but not much height, so if they don't have tile setters it will eat up their shelves very quickly and may take more firings than you imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denice Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 I invested in tile racks but it still took a lot of firings, the general rule is to make 20 percent more than you actually need. You may not need that many since you aren't making your own tiles. Denice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted December 30, 2019 Report Share Posted December 30, 2019 For small tiles it takes a lot of them. A square foot will need 4 6x6 tiles, 9 4x4 tiles, 36 2x2's and 144 1x1 tiles so plan it out to get a scope of the project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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