Karl P. Platt on sat 9 aug 97
Last weekend I managed (finally) to obtain photo quality results using
the laser to place images on glazed ceramic tile. I was concerned about
the stability of these images and went to Ceramica Portobelo the other
day to see how these images would behave under standard fast-fire
conditions. What's fast-fire? Going from pressed to packed in about 45
minutes -- actually the firing lasts for only 35 minutes. Needless to
say the glazes are fritted -- some wholly. What's important to note,
however, is that there are some new technologies agailable which, I
believe, have huge expressive potential. In particular, extremely heavy
applications of glaze (0.25") are worth looking into a lot more closely.
Portobelo operates 1 million square feet of factory with 12 production
lines feeding 6 kilns in the main plant -- there's another, too. The
whole produces 10 million square feet of tile monthly. The glaze
technology is interesting, but almost by definition, the glazes are
quite boring -- the usual frit/stain stuff that lends to very flat
effects. I've resolved to make something a little more interesting to
toss into the mix -- just for fun. Any ideas are welcome.
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