Best ways to add color to crazing in glaze post-fire?

[EarthToMatthew]

Hey everybody! I recently discovered the technique in which color is added to the cracks in glaze post-firing by wiping the piece down with ink. I bought what I believe is a good brand of India ink and have gotten some results that I'm pretty happy with, but some of the pieces that I've seen other artists produce seem to have much bolder and brighter coloring.  A few things I have considered are the size of the crazing, which I'm sure will allow for more or less ink to be deposited, as well as the color of the glaze and the clay body to provide contrast to the ink., but I don't think these factors answer all of my questions. 

I'm wondering if there is something other than india ink being used that can provide bolder and more vivid coloring, or maybe there is some other aspect of the technique I'm missing?

[Babs]

5 hours ago, EarthToMatthew said:

Hey everybody! I recently discovered the technique in which color is added to the cracks in glaze post-firing by wiping the piece down with ink. I bought what I believe is a good brand of India ink and have gotten some results that I'm pretty happy with, but some of the pieces that I've seen other artists produce seem to have much bolder and brighter coloring.  A few things I have considered are the size of the crazing, which I'm sure will allow for more or less ink to be deposited, as well as the color of the glaze and the clay body to provide contrast to the ink., but I don't think these factors answer all of my questions. 

I'm wondering if there is something other than india ink being used that can provide bolder and more vivid coloring, or maybe there is some other aspect of the technique I'm missing?

Were your pots warm when you wiped? If not you may not be getting as much ink in the craze lines.

[Min]

There is an old thread linked below where a few different methods are used, including tattoo ink and china paints. 

 

[Hyn Patty]

They are probably using alcohol inks.  Which are FAR brighter than normal inks.  But beware - alcohol inks tend to fade badly with UV exposure over time.  That may be less an issue with the glaze itself to help filter out some UV but you might find that in a decade the ink could use a new application to freshen up the color.  You'd do better to just use the more stable fade-proof inks as you are, or even better, rub that down with thinned china paints into the cracks and then just fire it.  Then you KNOW it's permanent and won't fade or wash out over time.  You can get the color of your choice and simply thin it with alcohol, then dab it into the cracks.  Buff off any extra and then fire to the standard 016 or so, whatever your china paint calls for that particular color.  

SUPER NIFTY alternative for a more Japanese look?  Rub down all the cracks with GOLD or white gold luster, then buff off any external residue, then fire THAT.  Particularly over a dark glaze that looks amazing!  Or use a thinned gold or silver paint if you don't want to deal with the toxic burn off and cost of actual gold lusters.  Trick of course is to get it thinned enough.  Wider your crazing cracks the better.  If they are SUPER fine then you may have a hard time using the niftier alternatives.  But worth a try on a test piece.  Different kinds of crackle glazes can give you finer or coarser crackling.  If the crackle is too fine to get your stain materials into it, try soaking the whole thing in the stain of your choice over night.  Or your crackle may just be too fine to absorb anything but pure inks.

Just be sure if you want to use the items for food, the crackle has to go on the outside ONLY and not inside where food may be in contact.  Crackles will trap bacteria.  Or better still, use crackles for non-food uses, ideally with a fully vitrified clay so there won't be porosity where water can seep in and cause the clay to break your glaze off later like it does with earthenware.

Edited February 24 by Hyn Patty

[EarthToMatthew]

On 2/23/2024 at 5:03 AM, Babs said:

Were your pots warm when you wiped? If not you may not be getting as much ink in the craze lines.

This is a great point I've never considered that, I'll try warming my pieces up in the future and see what happens. Thank you!

 

 

On 2/23/2024 at 1:54 PM, Min said:

There is an old thread linked below where a few different methods are used, including tattoo ink and china paints. 

 

I'll read through this, thank you for sharing!

 

 

On 2/24/2024 at 11:11 AM, Hyn Patty said:

They are probably using alcohol inks.  Which are FAR brighter than normal inks.  But beware - alcohol inks tend to fade badly with UV exposure over time.  That may be less an issue with the glaze itself to help filter out some UV but you might find that in a decade the ink could use a new application to freshen up the color.  You'd do better to just use the more stable fade-proof inks as you are, or even better, rub that down with thinned china paints into the cracks and then just fire it.  Then you KNOW it's permanent and won't fade or wash out over time.  You can get the color of your choice and simply thin it with alcohol, then dab it into the cracks.  Buff off any extra and then fire to the standard 016 or so, whatever your china paint calls for that particular color.  

SUPER NIFTY alternative for a more Japanese look?  Rub down all the cracks with GOLD or white gold luster, then buff off any external residue, then fire THAT.  Particularly over a dark glaze that looks amazing!  Or use a thinned gold or silver paint if you don't want to deal with the toxic burn off and cost of actual gold lusters.  Trick of course is to get it thinned enough.  Wider your crazing cracks the better.  If they are SUPER fine then you may have a hard time using the niftier alternatives.  But worth a try on a test piece.  Different kinds of crackle glazes can give you finer or coarser crackling.  If the crackle is too fine to get your stain materials into it, try soaking the whole thing in the stain of your choice over night.  Or your crackle may just be too fine to absorb anything but pure inks.

Just be sure if you want to use the items for food, the crackle has to go on the outside ONLY and not inside where food may be in contact.  Crackles will trap bacteria.  Or better still, use crackles for non-food uses, ideally with a fully vitrified clay so there won't be porosity where water can seep in and cause the clay to break your glaze off later like it does with earthenware.

Yeah, I would like the coloring to last as long as possible. 10 years is pretty long but permanent is ideal. I'll give the china paints and luster a shot and see what happens.  Thanks for all the info and such a detailed reply!
 

[Hyn Patty]

I second the suggestion of heating the pottery before dying, whatever you use.  That'll help open up and expand the crackle.  You got lots of great advice here.  I hope it works and have fun!  Show us photos after? 

[Babs]

Some if the crazed old pots you see are stained over time whilst the  ones  stained by the potter are distinct in their depth of colour and size of craze  pattern.

Edited February 26 by Babs