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Tips and Techniques
How to Clean Greenware
When the piece is dry, it is light gray, and is called greenware. Greenware is extremely fragile and must be handled with great care. Never pick up a piece of greenware by the edge - or the edge might be all you have left in your hand. Handle the greenware with both hands, gently sliding your fingers under it to lift, turn or move it.
Always cradle the piece of greenware in one hand and work with the other. This way you will have a good feel for the amount of pressure you are exerting on the greenware and are less likely to break it. The edges and seams should be carefully removed with a cleaning tool. Use the flat end of the tool, not the curved end, to gently scrape away the seam line, moving at a diagonal across the seamline, never straight up and down the seam. If you move straight up and down you'll end up gouging into the greenware and making a dip where the seam line once was. When you can run your thumb across the seamline without feeling any difference between it and the rest of the piece, you are ready to move on.
Now use a scrubber to gently sand and smooth the area, moving in a circular motion. Be carfeul not to allow your nails to scrape or gouge into the clay. If any detail was lost in the cleaning the curved end of the tool can be used to recarve.
Now hold your piece so that you can clean the rim. If you are working with a piece like a vase, you can gently scrape off the excess clay with your cleaning tool, then smooth with a rubber scrubber. Or, if the piece is extremely rough you can use a quick stick to 'sand' down the roughness. Be careful though. A quick stick can take away more than you want it to if you sand away without paying careful attention. When the piece is evened out use your scrubber to sand it smooth.
Now use a damp (not wet) sponge to smooth the rim and seam lines. Clean away the greenware dust with the sponge and smooth the piece all over if necessary. Again the piece is allowed to dry thoroughly. When dry, carefully carve your name or initials into the bottom of the piece.
Painting Bisque
After firing, greenware is called bisque. The bisque is finished with underglaze for bisque, glazes or non-fired paints. Here we will only concentrate on the fired glazes and underglazes.
Before you begin painting always be sure to wipe your ceramic piece down with a damp sponge. This will ensure that there is no dust on your piece which could cause the glaze to pull away and leave a bare spot. It will also help prepare the bisque to accept the glaze. A dry piece of bisque could instantly absorb all the moisture in the glaze, causing your brush to grab. Glaze and underglaze should flow smoothly from the brush.
Underglaze for bisque is generally used for detail painting, though it can be used to cover the entire piece if you so desire. This is where you would use Duncan's Concepts or Mayco's Stroke & Coat for Bisque. Use an appropriate sized brush, not too small. For long flowing lines, use a liner, loading it carefully so the paint flows freely from the bristles.
After painting your detail on the piece you should use a sponge or lightly brush on the first coat of clear glaze. Allow this first coat to dry, then paint on two more coats, being careful not to smear your detail paint. Or you can dip the piece in a clear dipping glaze.
If you are coating your piece with glaze, paint three flowing coats of a color of your choice glaze on your piece, being careful of brushstrokes which could show up in unleaded glazes. If you are applying crystal glaze you should pick up the crystals and apply to the piece while applying the third coat of glaze. Do not place crystals too near the bottom of the piece or you could end up having little glaze 'feet' holding your piece up in the air - or even sticking it to the kiln shelf.
Another idea is to paint your bisque with three smooth coats of white satin glaze. When completely dry paint details on the glaze using something like Duncan's EZ Strokes or Concepts. For instance, you could use shades of blue for an Oriental look. When the design is complete fire to cone 06. No further glaze is necessary. This is called Majolica style painting. For fun you could paint over other satin glaze colors like pink, banana or even key lime.
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