Fired Products — Glazes & Underglazes

Last week we painted a dozen eggs with a variety of glazes during our Thursday Night Live. We used the following and you can see them finished during this week’s Live on Thursday at 7:30 EDT.

• Specktaclear — a cleat glaze by Mayco with specks of color in it. It comes in four different colors. Because it is a clear glaze, we only needed two coats.

• Semi-translucent glaze — this we used on an egg that has a swirly design as it fills in the detail. This type of glaze is good for detailed pieces such as trees, but an opaque glaze is better if you are looking for solid coverage.
  
• Crystal Glaze — both Duncan and Mayco have crystal glazes and Duncan also made a product called Color Burst Crystals (don’t think Mayco is going to make them). We used a glaze with small crystals due to the size of the egg, trying not to get crystals close to the bottom. They run when fired and will cause drips that make little feet if you are not careful.
  
• Shimmer Glaze — this is a sparkly glaze made by Duncan that requires four coats. For best coverage put over a base color of underglaze, which we forgot todo.
  
• True Matte Glaze — matte glazes do not run so you need to be careful to get smooth coverage when brushing it on. This lack of movement makes it ideal for majolica, painting designs over the unfired egg. Because we did our design with Concepts which is glossy, it will be a nice contrast with the matte finish on the background.
  
• Satin Glaze — satins are a little shinier than mattes and give a nice solid coverage finish to an egg
  
• Art Glaze — there are several different specialty glazes in the Duncan line with a variety of different names, depending on the effect. All have something going on besides a solid color. A lot of our art glazes are in our discontinued drawers.
  
• White Cascade — this produces a drippy white drape of color when applied over another glaze. We all remember the old brown mugs with the white flowing down over the edge of the cup. We put just a little on the top of our orange egg.
  
• Clear Cascade — you do not see this glaze, but it makes the other glazes flow. We layered two different glazes with cascade sandwiched in between. The results will be a surprise.
  
• Cobblestone — this is a texture glaze that shrinks when drying and even more when firing, causing the underlying color to show through. It is available in both black and white. We used white cobblestone over a dark blue glaze to get a good contrast. The heavier it is applied, the larger the cobbles.
  
• Appli-Kate — this is a textured product that comes in many colors and produces a sandy effect. It is made by Marchelle Burnham and her husband. We used it to paint an egg that had an embossed flower on it. First, we base coated the egg with concepts.
  
• Marbled Eggs — this is a technique rather than a glaze. We previously learned to use shaving cream to get this effect (with either underglazes or stains), but it is not really necessary, and this is a lot less messy to do. We placed several contrasting colors of Concepts on a piece of aluminum foil swirling but not mixing the colors. Then we rolled the egg in the color covering all of the surface. Quick and easy, it was done in no time and ready to fire. Since Concepts fire shiny we do not need to clear glaze the egg.

Non-fired Products

This week we are painting eggs with products that do not go in the kiln. Therefore, all eggs will be finished after they are sealed with a spray sealer.

• Azure Dotting — we use Azure brand alcohol to apply dots of color to an egg that has been clear glazed and fired. You can do an overall pattern, different colors in different sections, or try and draw a design.
  
• Azure Flowing — After applying color to our glazed egg, we drip alcohol over the top making the colors flow and run together.
  
• Acrylic Stains — Duncan Bisque Stains and Mayco Softies are both acrylic paints used to paint solid coverage on eggs, add your own geometric design, or paint a scene.
  
• Pearls & Metallics — We use Fashenhues brand paints to add what looks like a satin ribbon or metallic trim. They can be used alone or as added detail with stains.
  
• Glitter — We use a gel glitter that we purchase from Glaser. It comes in many colors and is less messy than using loose glitter. Because the gel dries clear, you need to basecoat the egg with color before applying the glitter. Again, this can be an overall effect or used to add detail. Always add the glitter last because it takes a while to dry.
  
• Mud — This is a textured product used to produce fine, lacy designs on your egg. It comes in white but can be tinted if you prefer color. The mud is applied by dropping several dots from a find tipped bottle, then using a liner brush to pull the dots into swirls and swishes, often creating flowers. The egg needs to be base coated, preferably in a bright color to contract with the white design.
  
• Watercolors — this is a set of paints used just like you did in grade school to add color to your design. Works best for detailed pieces, rather than solid coverage.
  
• Chalks — These are pastel chalk sticks that you might have used in art class. Color from each piece of chalk is applied to the piece with a brush. This technique gives a soft, delicate effect. It is new to me, but we have the chalks and will give it a try.
  
• Fashenhues — This is a brand of water-based oil paints used to paint detailed pieces. First paint the egg with two coats of basecoat color, either white or cream or one of each. Then antique the entire piece, usually with brown. Do small sections at a time, wiping back consistently throughout the piece. Then apply color using a new brush for each color and wiping back as with the brown. The effect is to leave a darker shade of the color in the detail and a lighter shade in the foreground.
  
• Antiquing — This is a technique using acrylics rather than a product and is used on detailed designs. First, you apply a base color to the egg. Then, using a mixture of 50/50 stain and water, you apply a darker color to a small area and wipe it back using a Viva paper towel or soft cloth. Or you can do small sections only, such as antiquing an embossed bunny.
  
• Dry Brushing — This is another technique with acrylics used to bring out detail. First, base coat with a dark color, Then, use a lighter color to bring out the detail by brushing across the top of the design. Use a stiff brush that has not been wet with very little color. Wipe the color off on a paper towel, paper bag, or coffee filter before applying. You can start with a very dark color such as black and use several layers of dry brushing to bring up the color, e.g., charcoal, grey, Snowcloud grey, and white. This technique is time-consuming and takes patience but produces a beautiful, detailed design.
  
• Egg Lathe — This is a new piece of equipment that holds your egg and lets it spin so that you can apply even banding, The technique would be used on a plain egg rather than one with an embossed design.

WOW! Another dozen eggs! I am not certain that we can get through all of these in an hour and a half but we somehow managed last week. (The additional time we were on the air was a commercial.)

Speaking of commercials — don’t forget to Follow the Carousel and do it before the start of class. At the upper right corner of this page is a box asking for your email address. Some lucky viewer will receive these two dozen eggs which can be mailed out right after those from Thursday’s session are sprayed.

Carol’s Carousel Creations

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