Decorating
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Image Transfer onto Clay – Perfect Photos on Your Pottery
There are various methods of image transfer onto clay. However, if you specifically want to transfer photographs onto clay, there is a simple technique that works extremely well. This guide will take you through the process step by step. I used the following process to transfer this image onto a clay slab box. Image Transfer…
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Underglaze Flaking, Cracking and Peeling – Top Solutions
I love using underglaze, and for the most part, I find it very versatile and reliable. However, just occasionally, I have had an issue with underglaze flaking, cracking, and peeling. So, I went on a mission to find out why this was happening, and this is what I have discovered… The most common cause of…
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Decorating Pottery – 21 Great Ways to Decorate Clay
There are lots of different ways of decorating pottery. And each of these techniques can be used to put your own individual stamp on a piece of ceramics. Decorating pottery can be done at different stages in the process of making a piece of ware. For example, glazing pottery is done after the pot has…
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Slipware – Where Does it Come From? and How is it Made?
Slipware is a form of ceramics that involves decorating lead-glazed earthenware. Primarily, slip is a liquid form of clay particles suspended in water. That is the simplest form. In its sophisticated form, slip features feldspars, colorants, frits, and fluxes. Usually, slip is in a bright color that bears great contrast to the body of the…
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Painting Mugs – 11 Amazing Ways to Paint Your Own Mug
Painting mugs is a great way to personalize gifts. It can be a great way to express your creativity, whatever your age. And it’s a fun way to keep children entertained when they are at a loose end. There are lots of different ways to paint your own mugs. But if it’s not something you’ve…
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Is Terra Sigillata Food Safe? – Or Is It Purely Decorative?
Terra sigillata has long been in use by potters who continue to push the limits of what’s possible. This low-fire clay method is best applied when potters are trying to achieve a fine, smooth finish on the outside of their products without glazing. But then, that begs the question – is terra sigillata food safe?…
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Can You Use Decorating Slip on Bisque? – Slip on Bisqueware
I recently made a lovely red terra cotta vase, and bisque fired it. I was wondering what glaze to use when it occurred to me that a nice white slip would look good. But I had already bisque fired it and I wondered, can you apply decorating slip to bisque. So, I did a little…
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Burnishing Clay – 3 Ways of Burnishing Pottery to Perfection
Burnishing clay is a technique that gives pottery a smooth soft sheen without using a ceramic glaze. It involves rubbing the clay with a hard object, like a smooth pebble or the back of a spoon. The rubbing action compresses down the surface particles of clay, aligning the clay platelets. This creates a reflective surface.…
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Mixing Underglazes – What Can You Mix with Underglaze?
Over time I have collected a wide range of underglaze colors and brands. Nevertheless, I still sometimes find that don’t have the exact color I want. And I found myself wondering about mixing underglazes. Questions came up for me like whether you can mix underglaze colors? What about mixing different brands of underglaze? And can…
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Melting Marbles in Pottery – Ways to Fuse Glass onto Clay
One of the first pieces of pottery I made in pre-school involved melting marbles in pottery. However, mixing glass with ceramics is not just for kid’s projects. It is a technique much used by potters and can create lovely results in a few simple steps. To melt marbles in pottery, make a small shallow dish…
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How do You Make Sgraffito Pottery? – 3 Easy Fun Techniques
Sgraffito pottery is really quite simple to make. However, it can be extremely satisfying and lovely to look at. Like most techniques in pottery, there are several ways of approaching sgraffito. When I became interested in it my first question was how do you make sgraffito pottery? These are three of the sgraffito techniques I…
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When to Apply Terra Sigillata? – On Bone Dry or Bisque?
Making terra sigillata takes time and effort. Combining the ingredients is simple. Reducing the thin slip to a usable consistency takes quite a long time. So, it’s important that when you use this liquid gold, you use it well. This raises the question of when to apply terra sigillata to the best effect. Terra sigillata…