Tamara Petty on sat 15 oct 05
Hi Everyone. This is my first post to this helpful website! I need your
expert advice as to what if anything can be done for this sculpture
cracked in the glaze firing.
A year ago I sculpted a lady from stoneware clay and she developed cracks
due to poor construction. I've learned a lot from your posts and from
experience as to how to not have this happen again but I still want to
salvage this sculpture because "she's worth it" as the saying goes. She
wants to live on and be beautiful. :-)
Here are some pictures of the cracks...
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/tamaron2@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=/c233
She had the hairline cracks before I fired her. Then I did an 06 firing
to bisque. Their were some small cracks and I didn't fill them or repair
them properly. Then I glazed her and fired to Cone 8. The cracks grew. My
next step was going to be to china paint her face, skin, and the kitty.
But now that I have cracks, what should I do? Repair with Apt II or Aztec
high fire? Or just leave the cracks and proceed with china painting and
then when done with that 018 firing...fill in the cracks with some filler
and paint with acrylics and gloss sealer over the cracks?
Any help would be appreciated. :-)
Tamara
William & Susan Schran User on sun 16 oct 05
On 10/15/05 12:48 PM, "Tamara Petty" wrote:
> Or just leave the cracks and proceed with china painting and
> then when done with that 018 firing...fill in the cracks with some filler
> and paint with acrylics and gloss sealer over the cracks?
Leave the cracks until you've completed all firings.
Fill the cracks with a white epoxy putty that you can sand & paint.
Two that I have used with success are: "RepairitQuik" made by Polymeric
Systems (found online) and "Marine Epoxy stick" made by Bondo.
Both are sticks of two-part epoxy that you knead to blend.
They work well to fill cracks, can be sanded then painted.
--
William "Bill" Schran
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Stephani Stephenson on sun 16 oct 05
Tamara
You have several options
here are just a few
Have you considered not refiring the lady?
i.e. leave her as is and perhaps do a cold repair on the crack (see
later comments)
I looked at the photo before I finished reading your post, and to me
she looked finished....
her overall 'porcelain' complexion seemed ethereal, but complete....
I didn't regard the lack of painting on the face as unfinished.....
wait a day or so and look at her with a fresh view. Try to look at the
piece as it is rather than what
your original intentions were
sometimes this is one of those options, and sometimes it is the best
option.
Refiring to higher temp can be risky. Sometimes cracks open up more,
though sometimes they don't.
So you need to assess whether you are willing to lose what you already
have on the chance the refire will
not worsen the cracks.
Refiring to low temp is less risky, with regard to further opening up
the cracks... though nothing is for sure.
Results will vary, and much of it has to do with your particular clay
body, the stresses in the piece with regard to
construction, etc.
One way to repair cracks after all firing is complete is to use 2
part epoxy putty
East Valley Epoxy sells a kit with packets of colorants... careful and
creative applications of it can mimmic the look of glazes pretty well
and it can span small gaps. I think you can find them on the web.
I have never used APT II, Actually I did one didn't seem to have any
noticeable results, but I confess I never spent much time experimenting
with it further.
Refiring to cone 8 is probably the riskiest, but if you decide to do
so, one method is to
make a paper clay slip with your clay body , and fill cracks with it.
if the slip shrinks a bit on drying, keep filling and compressing with
the paper slip mixture ,
then apply glaze over it.
Results vary with this, as the repair area may appear different and
draw attention to the cracked area, as much as the crack itself.
But , with experience and attention, you can do a fairly good repair
job in this way.
Take time to look at the piece objectively if you can, and size up your
options .
best wishes
Stephani Stephenson
steph@revivaltileworks.com
http://www.revivaltileworks.com
claybair on sun 16 oct 05
I repaired a sculpture with the Marine epoxy and mixed in some mason stain
to approximate the surface color.... a potter friend could not spot the
repair.
Gayle Bair
Bainbridge Island, WA
Tucson, AZ
http://claybair.com
-----Original Message-----
From:William & Susan Schran User
> Or just leave the cracks and proceed with china painting and
> then when done with that 018 firing...fill in the cracks with some filler
> and paint with acrylics and gloss sealer over the cracks?
Leave the cracks until you've completed all firings.
Fill the cracks with a white epoxy putty that you can sand & paint.
Two that I have used with success are: "RepairitQuik" made by Polymeric
Systems (found online) and "Marine Epoxy stick" made by Bondo.
Both are sticks of two-part epoxy that you knead to blend.
They work well to fill cracks, can be sanded then painted.
--
William "Bill" Schran
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