Newbie: advice on drawing small lines on clay

[Darthpoodle]

Hello everyone,

I am a beginner, attending classes of pottery, untill quarantine closed classes.  I was left alone. Right now, our professors started selling a kit - some clay and 2 prechosen colours. Technique is as follows: prepare clay, form whatever you want; wait for ~2 days; then paint with engobe, allow to dry, bring to studio for firing.  I tried to draw an ornament resembling "dancing fires", but it was a real fiasco. A mockery of what I have imagined.

My brushes failed - either no line at all or too big. Not to worry, I could scratch engobe with tool designed for that, but this turned out to be a complete failure. One shop in my country had some tool, but my capsule for any liquid was very small, so I could not use it.

Since my plate was not fired (impossible at home), I could not use what in English is called "Preglaze pencils/charcoals".

Out of any options, I have to adress you, the experts.  What I need is some tool, resembling fountain pen [in my imagination], that I could fill with engobe and then draw whatever I want to.
Brushes are not an option, they just fail to obey me.
Scratching produces so miserable results that I just hate them.
Question: is there any tool available to buy online that fits my situation? As long as it is not super-expensive and is on any reputable online shop, it's ok for me.

*Please excuse my English. It is not my native, so some terms may sound wrong/bizzare.

[neilestrick]

Fine lines can be achieved when the clay is at the leather hard stage without a brush. Leather hard is when the piece has dried to the point it is stiff, but not totally dry. At this stage you can scratch lines into the clay without the clay flaking.

1. Cover the piece in wax resist.

2. Scratch the lines through the wax and into the clay with a need tool.

3. Let it sit for a bit and brush away any rough edges.

4. Fill in the lines with underglaze. No need to be neat here, as the wax will protect the piece.

5. Gently wipe away an excess underglaze with a dense sponge, leaving the color in the scratched lines. 

The wax will burn away in the bisque firing. You can also put down underglaze before applying the wax, using the fine lines to outline your work:

 

[Pres]

Welcome to the forum @Darthpoodle, nice to see someone from Lithuania and a UNESCO city at that. Lots of history there.

There is an alternative technique similar to @neilestrick's example. You may look up mishima, a Japanese technique that involves incising line into leather hard clay, then covering the area with a contrasting slip, and then scraping off the high areas exposing the lines now filled in with the contrasting slip. Other ways of doing this may involve the incised decoration, then firing the piece in bisque, adding an oxide wash over the areas of the incising and washing off the piece leaving the oxide in the incising.

All of these techniques have pluses and minuses as most things do.

Waxed areas have to burn out in the kiln, and if you are using a vented kiln can clog up the vents over time

Mishima can leave scraping marks in the clay if not careful

The oxide washes may not come completely clean leaving a shaded background.

 

Good luck, Happy potting, and Welcome once again to the forum.

best,

Pres

[Callie Beller Diesel]

If you prefer to draw rather than scratch, you might try finding a slip trailing bulb. I have this one, and it is probably a more expensive one, but there may be a less expensive one closer to you.

https://www.amazon.ca/Xiem-Lightweight-Precision-Applicator-Ounce/dp/B06XSP4NBT

[Magnolia Mud Research]

2 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

you might try finding a slip trailing bulb.

or:

Use a ~30 cc syringe with large needles;   different needle - different line width.   easy fill and cleaning  
LT

[Min]

One more option is to use a ruling pen and watered down underglaze. Not as quick as a brush but you can get clean lines with it.