making marks

7/31/2019 Making Marks

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CHAPTER 14

Marks o Pencils, Crayons,Pens and Trailers

Jack Sures, Canada, Wide Bowl detail, ceramic ink drawing on porcelain. Private collection. Photo: Judi Dyelle

For those who are excited about the graphicpossibilities o the ceramic surace and enjoy theuse o drawing implements that have something o

a sharp, scratchy or linear nature, the marks made

by pencils, pens, crayons and trailers likely will makethem avorite tools o expression. Chapter 1, about the

process o drawing and the nature o mark making,

showed that these tools are the oundation o written

or pictographic communication in Western civilization,

whereas the brush is the oundation o mark making or

most Eastern civilizations. Those who have grown up in

the Western traditions usually eel more anity with

scratchy drawing tools than with the sot, calligraphic

brushes. Fortunately, the range o ceramic decoration

tools encompasses both sot and hard possibilities.

Ceramic PencilsRegular pencils, with what we call leads, actually

are made rom graphite o various degrees o hardness

rom 6H (extremely hard) to 6B (extremely sot). I

these pencils are used to draw on the ceramic surace,

marks made with them will burn away in the ring.

Sometimes this is a convenient eraser o guidelines

or grids or patterns and designs done with ceramic

pigments. Guidelines also can be painted on with

vermilion watercolor paint that also will burn away.

Pencils or ceramic use are made with combinationso reractory materials, clays, and colorants and are

usually only commercially available in one level o

hardness that would probably equate to an HB rating in

a graphite pencil. HB hardness is midway between 6H

and 6B. Companies that produce ceramic pencils have

a habit o coming and going, but most ceramic supply

houses usually will be able to nd and supply them.

Pencils are commercially available in a very limited

variety o colors.

Photo:JudiDye

lle

Trailers, ceramic pens and pencils.


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Marks of Pencils, Crayons, Pens and Trailers

Sergei Isopov, USA, Thin Line, porcelain, 17-1 x 15-1 x 15, 2002. In the collection of David and JacquelineCharak, courtesey of the Ferrin Gallery, New York, USA.


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Making Marks Discovering the ceraMic surface

Work with ceramic pencils normally is undertaken

on bisque-red clay that has been suciently hardened

to withstand the pressure needed or satisactory mark-

making. Since the pencil lead may be quite ragile in

use, the smoother the clay surace, the better the drawing.

Bisque suraces can be smoothed by sanding with wet

and dry silicon carbide or aluminum oxide papers, or

the surace o the greenware may be sprayed or brushed

with a terra sigillata coating to provide a harder working

surace. Ceramic pencils may be used on the ceramic

surace just like their graphite equivalent on paper.

Although sharpened points tend to wear quickly on the

abrasive ceramic surace, the combination o pencil tip

marks, side-o-pencil marks and the opportunity to create

tones through nger-rubbing or smudging the sot image

gives wide potential or drawn imagery development.

v f, usa, spl P a, ww wl-w, dlz pl, lz, 18 dm, 1996.

Photobytheartist


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Jy Ld, usa, Pl, 6, pd b, l lz, 22, 1997.P

hoto:RichardFa

ller

J o, usa, epml P dl l n. 6, d 5, m, m d w w lp, mlplw lz l ppld w b d p, dlz pl l ddd l, 18-1 x 19 x 1, 2003.

Photocourtesyo

ftheartist


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s i, cd, J, w, wd d, d-bl, l lz d pp p,27cm x 22cm x 22cm, 2001.

Photobytheartist


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I the commercial underglaze pencils are too sot

or satisactory use, it is quite easy to make your ownand harden them to a more satisactory and less riable

state. Ceramic pencil drawings can be red onto the

bisque-red clay to harden them beore glazing, or,

alternatively, they can be red on unglazed high-red

clays, such as porcelain or stoneware, without the need

or a glaze coating.

The selection o colorants or mixtures o colorants

used in the coloring o the lead will control the

eectiveness o the drawings at high temperatures, but

most will tolerate cone 10.

Making Ceramic Pencils, Pastels,Crayons and Watercolors

Note:I wish to thank Jeanne Otis for her research, and

Arizona State University for permission to restate their work.

It has been expanded from the original text.

To make ceramic pencils and pastels, use a porcelain-

type slip with 50 percent white ring ball clay or plastic

kaolin. For dry strength in the green 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

ToTal 100

Macaloid (or 5% bentonite) 3

Colorant (maximum) 15

The materials, including colorants, should be dry

sieved through an 80-mesh screen to ensure thorough

blending. For color, you can use mineral oxides,

carbonates and prepared stains. A variety o combinationswill produce a wide range o colors, although it is

important to select colorants that wont burn out at high

temperatures; not many will, but cadmium/selenium and

potassium dichromate are likely to do so. The amount

o colorant can be up to 15 percent. More than that will

cause loss o plasticity in the raw state, making it dicult

to orm the pencils. The more colorant used, the more

intense the color.

Mix the dry materials with approximately 45 percent

ad fl c, usa, s d cm, pl, dlz, lz, 6-1 x 4 x 3-1, 2003.

Photobytheartist


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water, to which 1 percent o sodium silicate per 100 grams

o dry material mix has been added. This will slightly

defocculate the slip, giving additional green strengthwhile also intensiying some o the colorants.

Form the pencils by drying the colored slip to a

plastic state, and then either rolling out coils or extruding

lengths o the desired thickness. These then can be let

as pencil lengths or cut into shorter (1'' to 2'') lengths.

When dry, re the pencils to between 800C and 950C,

depending on the desired hardness. Lower ring will

produce soter lead; higher ring, harder lead. The short

lengths can be placed in a claw grip drating pencil (the

Koh-I-Noor No. 48 drating pencil can hold leads up to

'' in diameter).

Pastels normally are used rom the greenware stateand are not prered unless they prove too riable or

convenient use. To make pastels, use the basic recipe

above and simply orm the clay into coils or extrusions

to the desired size or use. I they prove too ragile,

they can be red to between 600C and 800C without

making them excessively hard. Ceramic pastel drawings

should be red on the ceramic object to harden them

beore a glaze is applied; otherwise, the powdery surace

likely will be spoiled in glaze application or handling.

John McCuistion, USA, Pond Series, cone 04 oxidation, 18 diameter, 2000.

Photo:RossMu

lhausen


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Lyd kz, usa, cd J, w, ld, d d-bl pl, lz-ld d, 8 x 5 x 4, 1997.

Photobytheartist


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Surace powder also might cause crawling through lack

o glaze adhesion.

To make wax crayons, mix the dry recipe above with

ordinary commercial wax resist. Form the crayon, and

let it dry. Since the crayon will contain some latex, it also

will have a slight resist eect on the work, particularlywhen used on bisque- ired ware. For a crayon with

greater resist ability, stir colorants into wax, let cool, roll

the wax into rods o dierent widths, and cut the rods

in convenient lengths.

Underglaze PensUnderglaze pens are like super-ine trailers

containing an ink that gives good lowability or

drawing. They are available commercially rom a number

o producers, or you can make your own with the ne

trailers that are available. You also can dip any orm o

nibbed pen, rom ne-pointed mapping pens or quills

to sharpened bamboo, into ceramic ink.

Black Ceramic Ink Recipe

Calcium borate 30

Potash eldspar 30

Ball clay 25

Silica 15

ToTal 100

Bentonite 5

Mason Stain 6600 or other black stain 10

Jd gm, cd, u c s, 8-1 x 10 x 2-1, 2002.

Photo:Da

leRo

ddick

Lyd kz, usa, By B W, w dd pl, dlz pl dw w llz, 13 x 4-1 x 4-1, 1984.

Photobytheartist


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Thoroughly dry-mix these ingredients, then add

a mixture o water and 5 percent sodium silicate (100

milliliters water to 5 grams sodium silicate). Pass it

through a 100-mesh sieve two times. The ink is then

thinned or appropriate use and should be usable at all

temperatures to cone 12. It can be thinned to producepen and wash-like drawings or used with a ceramic

watercolor or glazes. Other colorants also can be used

with this base.

Watercolors

Ceramic Watercolor Recipe

White fring ball clay 50

Potash eldspar 25

Silica 25

ToTal 100

Macaloid (or 5% bentonite) 3

Colorant (maximum) 15

Julie and Tyrone Larson, USA, Pineapple Tile, porcelain,lp- l by ty, pyd b lz w lzp p w b lz by Jl, p ppldwith trailers, cone 7, 12 x 16 x 1.

Photo:JulieLarson

Jan Schachter and Margaret (Peggy) Forman, USA,el, m, pl, bl lp, l w,bl ld w, dlz pl, , -bqd dw, p lz, 7 x 2-3 x3, 2003.

Photo:JohnBrennan


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Pl Lw, usa, smm L M. r, pl l, 4 xd, ld lz ppld w lp l,xdd bd w pyd lz, 33 x 21, 2003.

For watercolors, the materials are thoroughly mixedtogether, then enough water is added to make a slip,

which is sieved through an 80-mesh sieve and poured

onto a plaster surace. When dry to the touch, watercolor

cakes can be made by orming rounds or squares o

the colored slip and letting them dry completely. They

then can be used like ordinary schoolbox watercolors

by wetting the surace with water and applying with a

brush.

Trailers

A wide range o trailers or slip, ink, glaze oroverglaze uses are available rom ceramic suppliers,

kitchen stores and drugstores. They usually consist o

a rubber or neoprene bulb or container and a nozzle

with a ne-aperture tip, or sometimes multiple tips.The simplest to nd is usually either a hair coloring

applicator bottle or a childs enema rubber bulb rom

a drugstore.

Ceramic suppliers oten have ne-tipped trailers,

sometimes with interchangeable tips o diering

aperture. The aperture o the tip required depends on

the thickness o the material being squeezed through.

Thin inks will go through a ne tip without clogging,

but a wide tip may be needed or slips or glazes to fow

properly.

As with any tools, you will need to practice to getthe correct eel to achieve the best results. Keep a thin

needle tool nearby when working with trailers, because

the ne ones tend to clog quite easily.

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making marks

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