Departments

Books
Christmas
Easter Items
Halloween
New Items
Paints
Thanksgiving
All Other Bisque
Utility Items
Clearance Items

 Tip for Today

Common Problems with Bisque-ware

   This month we are going to try to cover some of the most common problems that occur with ceramic bisque pieces.

     The most common problem we are asked about is bisque that will not take paint in spots. If you are painting with stains you could spray the item with a few coats of porcelain spray sealer, let dry thoroughly and then finish painting your piece. If you are painting with under-glazes you can sand the area lightly with a fine grade sandpaper, this will allow the under-glaze to adhere to the item.

     Another problem we find people come across when buying bisque from auctions is that some businesses may not have standards as high as what most of us would consider acceptable. When this happens you receive your item that you wanted to glaze except it is discolored in spots or it is yellowish brown in color.

      There are two possible causes for this, the first is that your item had been stored in a damp location and mold spores have begun to grow in spots on your piece.
Re-firing this piece will restore your item and will enable you to glaze the piece. The second cause of this would be that the item had been fired at too high of a temperature. Under this scenario re-firing the item will do absolutely no good, you really have no choice except to stain the item.

If you have made it to this article, you obviously have the interest, and ambition that are required for mastering all of the techniques used to create or paint beautiful ceramic items. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the ever growing group of individuals who delight in expressing themselves through the painting of ceramic bisque. A group of people who love to create items that are as unique and as individual as they are themselves.

Well where should we begin? Maybe we should start from the beginning. Ceramic art is nothing new. Potters have been creating earthenware vessels, anthropomorphic figures, and utensils for thousands of years. One example of this, is how ceramics took a prevailing place in the lives of the Mexican people since the appearance of the Olmec culture (1500 B.C. - 800 A.D. ). Since that time they handed down their knowledge to the generations that followed. Each generation and region throughout history having its own unique characteristics in the pottery  it produced. However, in each culture there remained one similarity. The potter himself was given a great deal of importance. Here is how the Aztecs summed it up:

""A good potter:
he puts great care into his work,
he teaches the clay to lie,
he speaks with his own heart,
he brings life to things,
he creates them,
he knows everything as if he were a Toltec
he makes his hands skillful.""

The ancient techniques employed to make ceramics are still used by many today. Many ceramicists still practice making ceramics just as the ancient people did thousands of years ago. They take great pride in producing these items through coil building, open firing and the use of natural pigments. Just like the Aztec’s they put great care in their creations and they speak with their hearts. And that is what I believe each of us does whenever we finish an item. We "Speak with our heart" that is really what it is about, expressing ourselves, speaking with our hearts. Sometimes we do this by painting solemnly, other times by being creative or by being very colorful and cute. Each and every one of us has our own painting preferences and has or will develop our own style. And that is exactly why this craft is so popular.

I know some of you reading this are novices to the entire process, so we need to talk about how most of the ceramics you purchase today are produced. The process actually begins when an artist creates a sculpture. Many mold companies employ artists who create the sculptures which are used to create a plaster mold of the original piece. (We will cover all of these techniques in detail inside our ceramic schoolhouse for now we will just touch upon these topics.) Once the mold cures and the moisture has dissipated from the plaster, you can proceed with producing green-ware from the mold. ( Green-ware - a term used to define the state of a ceramic item before it has been fired )

We take the mold and add slip ( pour-able clay ) until the mold is completely filled. Because the mold is made of plaster a porous material the water is drawn out of the slip and the clay begins to thicken against the plaster. Once the desired thickness is achieved, the excess slip is slowly poured out of the mold. The mold is left to sit for some time and after the slip cures and hardens the green-ware is removed from the mold, all cut outs are performed, and the green-ware is left to dry. Once all the moisture has dissipated, the item is cleaned removing all seams that are left from the mold, and some details are etched back into the item. It is then placed into a kiln where it is fired to a very high temperature, causing the soft fragile clay to become hard like stone. You now have your bisque-ware ready for you to paint or glaze.

The whole process outlined above is not an extremely complicated process. But there are many small details to this process that must be learned to produce high quality bisque-ware. The same holds true when finishing your items. This is why we established the Dolly & Ernie Ceramic Schoolhouse. We did this to lessen the learning curve. We have seen many people grow discouraged when their project does not turn out exactly as they have in visioned. But with guidance, anyone can learn how to achieve fabulous results, creating or painting ceramic bisque.

Here in our Ceramic Schoolhouse we will provide you with the tools and techniques passed down throughout the years that will enable you to speak with your heart. We will cover all aspects and steps in the processes used to create these items. We will provide you with tips and techniques we have learned along the ways that are easy to learn and produce fabulous results.

You may access all of our articles, projects, technique sheets, charts, lessons, safety information and much more. From the making of ceramic molds to the painting of your item and every step in between you can find it here in our schoolhouse. Register today to begin. Learn at your own pace twenty four hours a day seven days a week. Learn what you would like whenever you would like. You will never get this much information or instruction in any of the classes available locally.