Decorating Tools New

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how to use clay pencils, slip

trailers, glaze pens, andcarving tools to decorate ceramics

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Decorating Ceramics with ClayPencils, Wax Crayons, Glaze Pens,and Slip TrailersBy Robin Hopper

There are so many ways to decorate the ceramic surace, and this overview o

several decorating tools used to apply color to clay includes recipes or making

your own pencils and crayons, as well as how to approach using each type o

decorating tool.

Slip Trailer Techniques for Decoratingthe Ceramic SurfaceBy Robin Hopper

Using only a simple slip trailer and a ew colored slips, you can achieve many

dierent types o surace decorations and patterns in a short period o time.

Using Simple Tools to DecorateCeramics with Complex DesignsBy Molly Hatch

Sometimes the simplest objects are the best tools or decorating pottery. Using a

pencil and laminated paper stencil, Molly Hatch walks you though how to transer

a design to a pot and then layer color onto the surace or a striking result.

Ceramic Decorating Tool Techniques

How To Use Clay Pencils, Slip Trailers, Glaze Pens,

and Carving Tools to Decorate Ceramics

We all love tools, especially pottery tools, and we normally think about orming when we talk about tools or ceramics,

but the most useul tools we have, besides our hands, are tools or decorating our work. A decorative surace, o

course, is the frst thing noticed about a piece o pottery, and as with all things made by hand, the right tools make

all the dierence. Regardless o what kind o surace decoration you are interested in, or currently practice, there is

always a way to make your tool box or bag o tricks bigger. Ceramic Decorating Tool Techniques: How To Use Clay

Pencils, Slip Trailers, Glaze Pens, and Carving Tools to Decorate Ceramicsexplains those tools in detail and shows you

how to use them or the greatest eect or your own ceramic suraces. Make your own ceramic colored pencils, or try

using a combination o dry and wet decorating techniques to get maximum depth out o your work.



Decorating Ceramicswith Clay Pencils,

Wax Crayons, GlazePens, and Slip Trailers

By Robin Hopper

For those who are excited about the graphic pos-sibilities o the ceramic surace and enjoy using

drawing implements that have something o asharp, scratchy or linear nature, the marks madeby pencils, pens, crayons and trailers likely will make themavorite tools o expression. These tools are the ounda-tion o written or pictographic communication in Westerncivilization, whereas the brush is the oundation o markmaking or most Eastern civilizations. Those raised in theWestern traditions usually eel more anity with scratchydrawing tools than with the sot, calligraphic brushes. For-tunately, the range o ceramic decoration tools encompass-es both sot and hard possibilities.

Ceramic PencilsRegular pencils, with what we call leads, actually aremade rom graphite o various degrees o hardness rom6H (extremely hard) to 6B (extremely sot). Marks madewith graphite pencils on ceramic suraces will burn outin the ring, which can be very convenient, as the ringerases the guidelines or grids used or painting or draw-

ing on patterns and designs in ceramic pigments. Guide-lines also can be painted on with vermilion watercolorpaint, which also burns away.

Pencils or ceramic use (to make marks that dont burnout in rings) are made with combinations o reractorymaterials, clays, and colorants and are usually only com-

mercially available in one level o hardness that wouldprobably equate to the HB rating o a graphite pencil. HBhardness is midway between 6H and 6B. Companies thatproduce ceramic pencils have a habit o coming and go-ing, but most ceramic supply houses usually will be ableto nd and supply them. Pencils are commercially avail-able in a very limited variety o colors.

Ceramic pencils are normally used on bisque-redclay that has been suciently hardened to withstand thepressure needed or satisactory markmaking. Since thepencil lead may be quite ragile in use, the smootherthe clay surace, the better the drawing. Bisque suracesTrailers, ceramic pens, and pencils.

Jack Sures, Canada, Wide Bowl(detail), ceramic ink draw-ing on porcelain. Private collection. Photo: Judi Dyelle.



blending. For color, you can usemineral oxides, carbonates, andprepared stains. A variety o com-binations will produce a wide rangeo colors, although its important toselect colorants that wont burn outat high temperatures; not many will,but cadmium/selenium and potas-

sium dichromate are likely to do so.The amount o colorant can be upto 15 percent. More than that willcause loss o plasticity in the rawstate, making it dicult to orm thepencils. The more colorant used, themore intense the color.

Mix the dry materials with approx-imately 45 percent water, to which1 percent o sodium silicate per 100grams o dry material mix has beenadded. This will slightly defoccu-

late the slip, giving additional greenstrength while also intensiying someo the colorants.

Form the pencils by drying thecolored slip to a plastic state, andthen either rolling out coils or ex-truding lengths o the desired thick-ness. These then can be let as pencillengths or cut into shorter 12 inchlengths. When dry, re the pencils tobetween 1472F (800C) and 1742F(950C), depending on the desiredhardness. A lower ring will producesoter lead; higher ring, harderlead. The short lengths can beplaced in a claw grip drating pencil(the Koh-I-Noor No. 48 dratingpencil can hold leads up to inch indiameter).

Pastels normally are used rom thegreenware state and are not preredunless they prove too riable orconvenient use. To make pastels, use

the basic recipe above and simplyorm the clay into coils or extrusionsto the desired size or use. I theyprove too ragile, they can be red tobetween 1112F (600C) and 1472F(800C) without making them exces-sively hard. Ceramic pastel drawingsshould be red on the ceramic objectto harden them beore a glaze is ap-plied; otherwise, the powdery suracelikely will be spoiled in glaze applica-tion or handling. Surace powder also

can be smoothed by sanding with wetand dry silicon carbide or alumi-num oxide papers, or the surace othe greenware may be sprayed orbrushed with a terra sigillata coatingprior to the bisque ring to providea harder working surace. Ceramicpencils may be used on the ceramicsurace just like their graphite equiva-lent on paper. Although sharpenedpoints tend to wear quickly on theabrasive ceramic surace, the combi-nation o pencil tip marks, side-o-pencil marks, and the opportunity to

create tones through nger-rubbingor smudging the sot image giveswide potential or drawn imagerydevelopment.

I the commercial underglazepencils are too sot or satisactoryuse, it is quite easy to make your ownand harden them to a more satisac-tory and less riable state. Ceramicpencil drawings can be red ontothe bisque-red clay to harden thembeore glazing, or, alternatively, they

can be red on unglazed high-redclays, such as porcelain or stoneware,without the need or a glaze coating.

The selection o colorants or mix-tures o colorants used in the color-ing o the lead will control theeectiveness o the drawings at hightemperatures, but most will toleratecone 10.

To make ceramic pencils andpastels, use a porcelain-type slip with50 percent white ring ball clay orplastic kaolin. For dry strength in thegreen state, 3 percent macaloid or 5

percent bentonite should be added.Ceramic Pencil Slip Recipe

White fring ball clay 50 %

Potash eldspar 25

Silica 25

100 %

Add: Macaloid (or 5% bentonite) 3 %

Colorant (maximum) 15 %

The materials, including colorants,should be dry sieved through an80-mesh screen to ensure thorough

Verne Funk, Caliornia, USA, SplitPortrait of the Artist, 18 in. (46 cm) in diam-eter, wheel-thrown whiteware, underglaze pencil, glaze, 1996.



might cause crawling through lack oglaze adhesion.

CrayonsTo make wax crayons, mix the dry

recipe above with ordinary com-mercial wax resist. Form the crayon,and let it dry. Since the crayon willcontain some latex, it also will havea slight resist eect on the work,particularly when used on bisque-red ware. For a crayon with greaterresist qualities, stir colorants intowax, let cool, roll the wax into rodso dierent widths, and cut the rodsin convenient lengths.

Underglaze PensUnderglaze pens are like super-

ne trailers containing an ink thatgives good fowability or drawing.They are available commerciallyrom a number o producers, or youcan make your own with the netrailers that are available. You canalso dip any orm o nibbed pen,rom ne-pointed mapping pens, toquills or sharpened bamboo, intoceramic ink.

Black Ceramic Ink RecipeCalcium borate 30 %Potash eldspar 30

Ball clay 25

Silica 15

100 %

Add: Bentonite 5 %

Mason Stain 6600

or other black stain 10 %

Thoroughly dry-mix these ingre-dients, then add a mixture o waterand 5 percent sodium silicate (100

milliliters water to 5 grams sodiumsilicate). Pass it through a 100-meshsieve twice. Thin the ink as appro-priate or your use. This ink shouldwork at all temperatures up to cone12. It can be thinned to producepen and wash-like drawings or usedwith a ceramic watercolor or glazes.Other colorants also can be usedwith this base.

Ceramic Watercolor RecipeWhite fring ball clay 50 %

Potash eldspar 25

Silica 25

100 %

Add: Macaloid (or 5% bentonite) 3 %

Colorant (maximum) 15 %

For watercolors, the materials aremixed together, then enough water isadded to make a slip, which is passedthrough an 80-mesh sieve and pouredonto a plaster surace. When dry tothe touch, watercolor cakes can bemade by orming rounds or squareso the colored slip and letting themdry completely. They then can beused like ordinary childrens water-colors by wetting the surace withwater and applying with a brush.

TrailersA wide range o trailers or slip,

ink, glaze or overglaze uses are avail-able rom ceramic suppliers, kitchenstores, and drugstores. They usuallyconsist o a rubber or neoprene bulbor container and a nozzle with a ne-aperture tip, or sometimes multipletips. The simplest to nd is usually ei-

ther a hair coloring applicator bottleor a childs nasal bulb aspirator roma drugstore.

Ceramic suppliers oten have ne-tipped trailers, sometimes with inter-changeable tips o diering aperture.The aperture o the tip required de-pends on the thickness o the materialbeing squeezed through. Thin inks willgo through a ne tip without clogging,but a wide tip may be needed or slipsor glazes to fow properly.

As with any tools, youll need topractice to get the correct eel toachieve the best results. Keep a thinneedle tool nearby when workingwith trailers, because the ne onestend to clog quite easily.

This article was excerpted rom Robin Hop-pers Making Marks published by The Ameri-can Ceramic Society.

Lynda Katz, USA, Covered Jar, 8 in. (20cm) in height, thrown, altered, andhand-built porcelain, glaze-trailed deco-ration, 1997.

Lynda Katz, USA, Bayou Boogie Woo-gie, 13 in. (33 cm) in height, thrownand aceted porcelain, underglaze pen-cil drawing with luster glazes, 1984.



Photos:Ju

diDye

lle

You can comb through theslip with a tool or ngers.The thickness o the slipdetermines the clarity othe marks.

The more complex you getwith your initial slip design,the more options becomeavailable, but balance thetrailing with the combing.

Because this trailed designwas a bit more complex, asingle line is pulled throughselective areas with a singlereed or eather quill.

Designs can get a ree asyou eel, so dont think ge-ometry is the only option.

Free-orm designs are goodor marbling. Gently shakethe piece to move the slip.

You can stick with dotsonly, layering them up toincrease contrast.

Any design can be fattenedby very gently tapping thepiece to settle the slip.

To trail slip in lines or dots,the slip should be thickenough to stand up and notrun, but it should be verysmooth and consistent.

Apply a base coat o slipthat is thick enough toremain wet or a while, butthin enough to spread intoan even, smooth layer.

Pour out the excess slipater you have covered alldesired areas, and clean upany over run.

Combing through trailed slipmakes a simple design verycomplex in short order. Thistakes practice to do smooth-ly, without hesitation.

Trailing on top o the baseslip oers many decorativeoptions. you could simplytrail slip and let it sit on topo the base color as applied.

Slip Trailer Techniquesfor Decorating the

Ceramic SurfaceBy Robin Hopper



By Molly Hatch

Ihave always been interested in draw-ing. As an undergraduate, I ocused ondrawing or the majority o my time inschool. It wasnt until my nal year that

I was shown surace decoration techniques orclay that are similar to printmaking and draw-ing processes. It was this marriage o drawingand clay that has driven the development o mycurrent work.

Theres something magical in the abilityto interpret what I see through my hands.I think o drawing as a visual language

similar to writing; both can be communica-tion tools. I am oten surprised by the smallnarratives that appear in the patterns I draw onthe suraces o my pots. Each bird has its owndistinct personality and expression . . . . A mothwill buzz around a peony. The patterns I draware always my interpretation and representa-tion o an already existing pattern. I sometimescombine elements o dierent patterns, in turncreating new patterns. I play with the scale o the pat-tern on the pot. How the pot rames the image otendictates the pattern itsel.

I spend a large amount o time looking at historicabrics as source material and Im always collectingnew patterns to add to my repertoire. I pull out newpatterns when I need a challenge and I draw the pat-tern on paper a ew times to amiliarize mysel with itbeore experimenting on my pots. I use porcelain ormy work or its durability and translucence. I love thesimilarity o pure white porcelain to a blank piece opaper. My orms are inspired by contemporary prod-uct design, 18th century European actory ceramicsas well as the English ceramics o the Leach/Cardewstudio tradition.

Throwing a Blank CanvasWhen Im throwing, I think o the pots and theirorms as that blank piece o paper. I strive to keepmy orms simple, quiet, and uncomplicated. Thissimplicity allows the drawing to become the majorocus o each pot, rather than a competition betweenorm and surace.

The simplest and most popular pot I make is atumbler orm that I reer to as a beaker. I use abouta pound o clay to make the beakers pictured in thisarticle. When throwing, I use very ew tools other than

Finch Cup with Baroque Frame,13 inches (33 cm) in width.

Using Simple Tools toDecorate Ceramics with

Complex Designs



my hands. I use the crook o my orenger and middlenger to shape the lips o my pots. When I do usetools, my avorite rib is a square rib ashioned atera Michael Cardew design and made or me by myhusband who is a woodworker (fgure 1). Im careulto use the rib as little as possible because I enjoy thepots much more when theres evidence o my hand inthem. When Im trimming, I usually use a bat damp-ened slightly with a sponge. I tap the pot Im trimmingon center and then, using the slightly damp surace othe bat, I apply pressure to the base o the pot, whichcreates a slight suction and secures the pot to wheel

or trimming. When using this trimming technique, ithelps to keep one hand on the pot at all times to catchit in the event that the suction gives way.

Image TransferMishima is a traditional Korean slip-inlay technique.The Korean pots you see with mishima decorationtypically use several colors o slip inlaid into the samepiece. I basically use the same black slip recipe or allo my mishima drawing. I always reer to a patternwhen Im drawing on my pots and sometimes use atemplate to transer a detail o the pattern (fgure 2).

When throwing, use the crook o your nger to shape thelip o a tumbler.

1

Finish o the rest o the drawing reehand, using the tem-plate as a visual reerence.

6

Laminated paper template o drawing can help maintainconsistency in a design when transerring images to a set.

2

Gently wrap the laminated pattern around the cup anduse a quill or pencil to trace the image.

3Remove the template to reveal the transerred tracing im-age now impressed into the clay.

4

Use the transerred image as a guide or drawing deeperlines into the surace.

5



Apply a layer o stained slip over the drawing using awide brush.

7Wipe the excess slip rom the surace o the pot using aclean sponge.

8

Use a vitreous engobe mixed with a brushing medium tocreate color accents.

9

Though it fuxes a bit at higher temperatures, the engobecan be used to ll in color areas on the bottom.

10

In this case, I am using the template to transer the birdin the pattern onto the cup surace. I make my tem-plates by laminating my own drawing o a ound pat-tern. This is helpul i you are trying to make multiples,but still requires a lot o drawing and interpretationbecause youre drawing on a three-dimensional surace.

Inlaying the ColorAll o my mishima is done when the pots are a rmleather hard. Usually they are ready to draw on justater trimming is nished. To ollow this technique,start the transer by gently wrapping the laminated

Tumbler, 53/4 inches (15 cm) in height, porcelain,mishima slip inlay, vitreous engobe, red to cone 6.

Drawing ToolsThere are many tools you can use to incise the sur-

face of the pot for mishima. I have gone through

stages of preferring particular toolspencil-style

X-Acto knives, commercial stylus carving tools (sold

in ceramic supply stores), African porcupine quills

(available at Santa Fe Clay) among others. My cur-

rent drawing tool of choice is a call igraphy pen with

interchangeable metal tips. Its the same kind of pen

that you dip in ink and would use to do traditional

calligraphy; I just use it on clay instead.



pattern around the cup, taking careto position the image exactly whereyou would like it to be on the cup.Then, using an Arican porcupinequill (dull-tipped pencils work welltoo), transer the image by tracingover the lines on the template withenough pressure to draw into thesurace o the pot underneath (fgure3). Remove the template (fgure 4)and use the transerred image as aguide or drawing deeper lines intothe surace o the pot (fgure 5). Youdont need to draw very deeply intothe surace or mishima to work.I oten eel as though I am justscratching into the surace o theclay. Ater going over the tracing,nish o the rest o the drawingreehand, using the template pattern

as a visual reerence (fgure 6).Just beore you apply the slip tothe surace o the pot, use a sot-bristled brush, such as a shavingbrush, to get rid o as many crumbsas possible. I you dont removethe crumbs, they can oten stick tothe pot and create problems whenremoving excess colored slip romthe surace later.

Using a wide brush, apply alayer o stained slip to the drawing

(fgure 7). I tend to use a thinnerslip so that it has an easier timegetting into the small details o thedrawing. Thicker slips tend to onlypartially ll in the drawn lines inthe surace. Once the pot has driedback to the dry leather-hard stateand any sheen on the slip has dis-appeared, begin to wipe away theexcess slip rom the surace o thepot using a clean sponge (fgure 8).You need to clean the sponge oten

during this process to avoid leav-ing streaks o color on the suraceo the pot. As you work, youllsee your design emerge. The slipremains in the recessed lines o thedrawing, creating the inlaid design.Tip: I you are using a clay with alot o grog, its a good idea to alter-nate between using the sponge toremove the slip and smoothing thesurace with a rubber or metal rib.

Recipes

Andrew Martins Brushing Slip(up to cone 10)

Ferro Frit 3110 30 %

Ball Clay 20

Mason Stain 6600 (black) 50Total 100 %

Add: CMC 2 %

This is the slip I use or the mishima inlay ar-eas on my work Be sure to mix it thin enoughthat it flls in all o the fne lines I using acoloring oxide (like iron oxide, manganesedioxide, chrome oxide, cobalt oxide, cobaltcarbonate or copper carbonate, or example)instead o a commercial stain, the amounto colorant needed may be less than in theabove recipe

Vitreous Engobe

(Cone 046)Talc 153%

Ferro Frit 3110 184

Kentucky OM4 Ball Clay 153

EPK Kaolin 51

Glomax (Calcined Kaolin) 255

Silica 204Total 1000%

Add: CMC 10%

Macaloid 10%Add stains to the above base at a ratio o 1:1I use this on bisque ware

Brushing MediumTo make a brushing medium or use withthe Vitreous Engobe, slake a 50/50 mix oMacaloid and CMC in hot water and blendtogether until smooth To combine the en-gobe with the brushing medium, start with asmall amount o each and use a palette knieto mix them together Add more medium orengobe until you get the right consistencyor brushing

Val Cushing Clay Body(Cone 6)

Nepheline Syenite 23 %

EPK Kaolin 35

Tile 6 Kaolin 15XX Sagger Ball Clay 5

Silica 22Total 100 %

Add: Bentonite 3 %I use a commercial cone 6 porcelain rom She-feld Ceramic Supply, however, this Val Cushingcone 6 body is great

At this point let the pot dry com-pletely and then bisque re it.

Adding ColorOn many o my pots, I add coloraccents to the mishima patternthrough painting. I do all o mypainting ater the pot has beenbisque red and beore I do any

glazing. For the color, I use a cone04 vitreous engobe that I mixmysel, but commercial underglazesalso work well. I you use an en-gobe, combine it in a 1:1 ratio withbrushing medium using a paletteknie until it is well mixed (fgure9). The mixing-medium helps makethe engobe more brushable andthins it out so that you can build upcolor in layers, similar to paintingon canvas. This layering makes ormore solid colors with less visiblebrush strokes.

The engobe recipe that I use tendsto fux a bit at cone six but it can stillbe used to ll in the line drawings onthe bottoms o pots (fgure 10). AterI nish adding the color, I use a clearglaze over everything except the bot-tom o the pot, then re the work inoxidation to a hot cone six.

Molly Hatch is a ull-time studio potter in

Northampton, Massachusetts. She studiedceramics as an undergraduate student atthe School o the Museum o Fine Arts inBoston and received her MFA rom theUniversity o Colorado, Boulder. To seemore o Hatchs work, visit her website atwww.mollyhatch.com or her Etsy shop atmollyhatch.etsy.com.

Molly Hatch working in her studiowhile she was a resident at the JohnMichael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboy-gan, Wisconsin.

PhotoCredit:JeffMachtig

CourtesyoftheJohn

MichaelKohlerArtsCenter


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