Hello Everybody!
Welcome to our Chat Room.
It is proper to begin our discussion telling you who we are.
We have been in ceramics for 19 years. First as a hobby, then teaching. Seven years ago we established our storefront. On July 1998 we started selling bisque through the Internet.
We are actually distributing Africana colors. We sell bisque, greenware, finished pieces and work done by puertorrican artisans.
We sell three additional color brands, liquid slip (Mackie's Slip), brushes, etc.
Because we can understand english and spanish we believe that Internet communication can be a great instrument for us to develop ceramics throughout our American continent.
To our Brazilian brothers we say: We are studying Portuguese!
To our Haitian brothers, we need to know what percentage of your people know english or spanish.
We have received communications from Europe, Mexico, USA, South America and the Caribbean. We expect to hear from Central America as soon as they recuperate from the disaster that hit them.
Remember these classes are prepared for you so if you have any comments, questions, opinions or suggestions, please let us know.
NOW LET'S TALK CERAMICS!
There are innumerable techniques for using opaque stains. Some of them are airbrushing, sponging, detail design, banding, spattering, stenciling, stippling, antiquing-wash, dry brushing, wet brushing, china tinting, texturing with opaque, marbleizing effect, lace draping, polished finish, etc. We will try to teach you as many techniques as possible but we must start with the basic elements.
Today's class explains how opaque acrylic stains are used as a base coat. We are using an antiquing technique too. There are different ways to antique a ceramic piece. As we continue our classes many of them will be explained to you.
The main goal when you apply a base coat is to achieve a complete and smooth application on the area you want to cover. There are some tips you can use to accomplish this purpose:
1. Use a grit sponge to smooth the bisque surface.
2. Brush away accumulated dust.
3. Wet a sponge and wipe away all the dust remaining on the bisque surface.
4. Wet your brush with water before starting to paint.
5. Use a brush as big as the area to be covered will allow you to.
6. Paint the surface quickly enough so that the area where the brush strokes overlap does not dry out before you smooth it.
7. Consider that too thin an application of color will produce blotchy spots.
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL:
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.
Some of the problems you may encounter while working with stains are the following:
1. Blotchy spots - this is caused by too thin an application of color.
2. Dirt, dust, oil or grease spots - color does not adhere well to these areas. It is advisable to re-fire the ware before proceeding with the technique.
3. Non-porous or hard bisque - this will make a smooth application difficult. It is recommended to flow on a thin coat as a primer. Let it dry and apply the additional color.
4. Ridges or lap marks- reflects a faulty or uneven application, or that the stain was too heavily applied. Correct by scrubbing down with a rubber scrubber or re-fire the ware.
5. Hard spots - this is caused when slip strikes a mold in the pouring process at a single spot. This area may resist decoration. Hard spots can be corrected by cleaning the greenware with a mixture of 1 tsp. of vinegar to 1 pint of water or use AFRICANA FX-II in the greenware before bisque firing.
This is all for today. We hope you join us in our next discussion. If you have any other questions, please let us know at cervenus@coqui.net.