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anyone tried underglaze crayons ?(not pencils)

updated sat 26 jan 08

 

Randall Moody on tue 22 jan 08


Macaloid is a suspension agent/plasticizer similar to Bentonite and
Veegum T. Mix it with water before adding other ingredients. I think
it is made from hectorite but don't quote me on that. Check Aardvark
Clay or your local supplier.

Crayons are traditionally, any drawing material made in stick form.

The ones that I have seen like what you are speaking of are more like
a stick of chalk rather than the typical wax based Crayola.

Randall

On Jan 22, 2008 3:34 PM, Robin Jensen wrote:
> HI all,
> I was drawing with my son using his crayons recently and came up with some
> designs I would like to use on my pots. I cant seem to reproduce that
> specific "crayon" effect on my pots, I know it sounds goofy but I really
> like these paper designs. I always struggle translating from paper to pots.
> I see in the Ceramic Spectrum book a recipe for making your own "crayons"
> but I am wondering how they work. It calls for a porcelain body but I am
> doing lowfire...can I use a white low fire body? And what is macaloid
> (mentioned in the recipe as a plasticizer) anyways? Is there a brand name I
> can search for, it does not seem to be available from my local pottery
> supplier. Are they soft like wax crayons? Has anyone tried them? What are
> the commercial ones like?
> Robin Jensen
> Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
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Paul Lewing on tue 22 jan 08


On Jan 22, 2008, at 12:34 PM, Robin Jensen wrote:
I cant seem to reproduce that
specific "crayon" effect on my pots, I know it sounds goofy but I really
like these paper designs.
Nothing goofy about it, Robin. I also would like to get that
specific crayon line look, and I've been doing a bit of
experimenting. I've been coming at it from a different angle,
however, but you may be able to use what I've done and go from
there. What I've been trying to make are overglaze crayons that will
mark on fired glaze, just like a grease pencil or china marker.
I started with instructions on making pastels from the Artists
Handbook. They say to use gum tragacanth as a base. You can get
that in any good art supply store. You mix it with water to make a
thin paste. Then you mix that with powder (paint pigment, china
paint orin your case stains or oxides) and pour it out onto
newspaper. As it dries, you can roll it into crayon shapes. The
more gum you use, the harder the crayon will be, the more powder, the
softer. I'll look up recommended proportions for you if you need me
to. I don't k now if other gums like gum arabic or CMC would work
equally well or not. It would depend on how hard they dry. But
they're all water based, so they should not resist your glaze.
When I was in school, I made some crayons just by melting oxides into
paraffin. That did make a resist, but that's what I was looking for
then.
So far with the gum tragacanth, I have been able to make crayons soft
enough to mark on bisque or even matte glaze, but so far I have not
been able to make one that will mark on shiny glaze. I'm thinking
some kind of wax like beeswax next.
Good luck.
Paul Lewing
www.paullewingtile.com

MT Hannigan on tue 22 jan 08


I've used Axner underglaze "crayons" on B-mix. They look like chalk
or pastels--not like a waxy crayon--and the effect is similar. They
are recommended for cone 6, tops, but I have used them at cone 10
with slight "burn-out" of some colors. They work best if used on
bisqued ware, but be sure to refire before applying any clear glaze
over it. If you don't, the glaze will crawl.

Teri Hannigan


On Jan 22, 2008, at 12:34 PM, Robin Jensen wrote:

> HI all,
> I was drawing with my son using his crayons recently and came up
> with some
> designs I would like to use on my pots. I cant seem to reproduce that
> specific "crayon" effect on my pots, I know it sounds goofy but I
> really
> like these paper designs. I always struggle translating from paper
> to pots.
> I see in the Ceramic Spectrum book a recipe for making your own
> "crayons"
> but I am wondering how they work. It calls for a porcelain body
> but I am
> doing lowfire...can I use a white low fire body? And what is macaloid
> (mentioned in the recipe as a plasticizer) anyways? Is there a
> brand name I
> can search for, it does not seem to be available from my local
> pottery
> supplier. Are they soft like wax crayons? Has anyone tried them?
> What are
> the commercial ones like?
> Robin Jensen
> Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
> ________
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, or change
> your
> subscription settings here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots2@visi.com

Doug Trott on tue 22 jan 08


Continental Clay in Minneapolis carries Amaco Decorator Underglaze Chalk cr=
ayons (http://www.continentalclay.com/searchResult1.php?keyword=3Dcrayon). =
Cone 05 - 10.

Haven't tried 'em.

Doug

> Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:34:54 -0500
> From: robinjensen@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Anyone tried underglaze crayons ?(not pencils)
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>=20
>... Is there a brand name I
> can search for, it does not seem to be available from my local pottery
> supplier. Are they soft like wax crayons? Has anyone tried them? What ar=
e
> the commercial ones like?
> Robin Jensen
> Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
>=20
> _________________________________________________________________________=
_____
> Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>=20
> You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, or change your
> subscription settings here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>=20
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi=
.com

Robin Jensen on tue 22 jan 08


HI all,
I was drawing with my son using his crayons recently and came up with some
designs I would like to use on my pots. I cant seem to reproduce that
specific "crayon" effect on my pots, I know it sounds goofy but I really
like these paper designs. I always struggle translating from paper to pots.
I see in the Ceramic Spectrum book a recipe for making your own "crayons"
but I am wondering how they work. It calls for a porcelain body but I am
doing lowfire...can I use a white low fire body? And what is macaloid
(mentioned in the recipe as a plasticizer) anyways? Is there a brand name I
can search for, it does not seem to be available from my local pottery
supplier. Are they soft like wax crayons? Has anyone tried them? What are
the commercial ones like?
Robin Jensen
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Mayssan Shora Farra on wed 23 jan 08


Hello Robin:

I tried the comercial ones 10 years ago, they felt more like chalk than
crayons. At least that is how I remember them.

Mayssan, In drizzly charleston WV

mayssan Shora Farra
http://www.clayvillepottery.com

Lee on wed 23 jan 08


Hi Robin ,

A friend in Omaha, Susan Mcgilvrey works with
underglaze pastels. The decoration looks exactly like pastel
drawings. I really like her work. When I was back in Minneapolis
for the first time in 8 years, I was happy to unpack a platter of hers
that is decorated with drawings of pears, tumbling in space.

She uses terracotta with a white slip over it.
She bisques that, and then draws on the white, and then glazes with a
clear glaze. If I only had an electric kiln, it is something I
would experiment with.

--
Lee in Mashiko, Tochigi Japan
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/

"Tea is nought but this: first you heat the water, then you make the
tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know."
--Sen No Rikyu
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi

Rogier Donker on wed 23 jan 08


Hey Robin! :-)
Amaco makes "delicious" :-) underglaze
crayons... page 104 of the 2007 catalogue....they're expensive ($
25.09 a set) but work like a charm and when covered with a clear
glaze look just like crayon art on paper...
Rogier

P.S. See us on the web at http://www.donkerstudio.org

Tom Brook on wed 23 jan 08


Yes I have tried the chalks. If you draw thick with them they can give a
jagged line. I ended up using them on a piece that I wanted to have an area
with a watercolor effect-if you use an paint brush and wet them with it they
work well for a watercolor effect. The best thing is to play around with
them wet and dry on something you do not care much about to see what
effects you can get by using them differently. -Tom

Russel Fouts on thu 24 jan 08


You could get waxy, crayony lines by painting with underglase colors,
then draw your design over the colors with normal wax crayons (any
crayon or try pastels for even better resist) and then glaze over
that. The crayon lines will resist the glaze in a "crayony" way.

I've done this with terra sigs but it should work with glazes.

Russel



Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75

Http://www.mypots.com
Home of "The Potters Portal"
Over 3000 Pottery Related Links!
Updated frequently


"Look, it's my misery that I have to paint this kind of painting,
it's your misery that you have to love it, and the price of the
misery is thirteen hundred and fifty dollars. "

- Mark Rothko, In Art/Painting

Russel Fouts on thu 24 jan 08


Paul,

>> When I was in school, I made some crayons just by melting oxides
into paraffin. That did make a resist, but that's what I was looking
for then. <<

I would think that if you did this the crayons would leave color
behind IN the resist (kind of like cuerda seca) as well as resist the glaze.

When the glaze melted traces of the color in the resist would be left
behind. That could have looked nice. What did it look like? Could you
have used more color to get a stronger effect or would you then have
to add some flux so the color would smooth out?

>> So far with the gum tragacanth, I have been able to make crayons
soft enough to mark on bisque or even matte glaze, but so far I have
not been able to make one that will mark on shiny glaze. I'm
thinking some kind of wax like beeswax next. <<

I'm thinking, there must be a binder that has the waxy
characteristics without being a resist.

Russel


Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75

Http://www.mypots.com
Home of "The Potters Portal"
Over 3000 Pottery Related Links!
Updated frequently


"Look, it's my misery that I have to paint this kind of painting,
it's your misery that you have to love it, and the price of the
misery is thirteen hundred and fifty dollars. "

- Mark Rothko, In Art/Painting