Art glazes can be applied in different ways, in order to achieve different effects. Some glazes have to be applied in certain ways and not in other ways. What follows is a description of common glazing techniques and how and when they should be applied.
Perhaps the most common glazing technique is dipping. As the term suggests, the pots or other ceramic objects are simply dipped into a bucket of dipping glazes. This can require a considerable amount of glaze, particularly if the object to be dipped is quite large. If a thin-necked bowl or vase is being glazed, the inside can be glazed first by pouring the glaze in and then pouring it out again. Then the vessel is dipped into the glaze, opening facing down. Air trapped inside the vessel will prevent glaze from entering the already-glazed interior. A three-pronged raku tong is useful for holding objects to be dipped, since it leaves only tiny pin-sized marks which can later be smoothed over by rubbing.
If an object is too big to dip, or if not enough glaze is available, then the glaze may be applied by pouring. Apply by holding the ceramic object in one hand, mix the dry glazes according to instructions and pour the glaze over it as evenly as is possible until the entire surface is covered. Using this method some overlapping is inevitable. If this matters with the particular glaze being used, then smooth the edges over by rubbing them with a finger. If the glaze contains toxic ingredients such as lead manganese or copper, use rubber gloves to smooth the surface.
Another technique which uses less glaze is spraying, but this requires special equipment which may not always be available in the pottery studio. Needed are a compressor, a glaze spray gun, a glaze booth, and a mask. The glaze booth serves to extract fine glaze mist, which shouldn’t be inhaled, from the air. This is accomplished with an extractor fan. Some glaze booths include a wall over which water runs that traps large amounts of glaze from the atmosphere. This can be especially important when toxic glazes are being employed. Although spraying may sound like an easy technique, it has its complexities. To spray the inside of a vase, for example, is difficult since the spray has little maneuvering room within the small space, and it is quickly ejected again perhaps spraying your face. To avoid this problem, narrow-necked vessels are glazed by first pouring glaze on the inside, and then spraying on the outside. The chief advantage of spraying is that the cover of glaze comes out very even, which can be crucial with some glazes. To check how thick a sprayed glaze is, take a pin and scratch the surface. If the glaze is sufficiently thick, the scratch can later be smoothed out by rubbing.
Brush-on art glazes are specially formulated for brushing onto the ceramic surface. It makes decoration quite easy since the brush marks will smooth over but, at the same time, the glaze won’t run when it is fired to the correct temperature. Brush-on glazes also enable many variations in decorating techniques which otherwise would be impossible to obtain. The chief difficulty with these glazes is fine adjusting the combination of glaze thickness and firing temperature; but this is – as is so much of life – a trial and error operation. Finally, no matter what glazing technique you use, always carefully read the instructions for handling toxic materials when you are glazing ceramics.
There are many standard techniques for applying art glazes, depending upon the effect which you want to achieve. There are especially formulated dipping glazes, and also dry glazes which can be liquefied to provide simple and safe glaze formulations. For all your pottery supply needs, contact AMACO today.
Veloci-Jet XL Printing a Dark T-Shirt in 3 Minutes