INTEGRATING DESIGNS

This bowl in the 'Byzantine Crackle' technique was created like this: 

On the inside of the  bisqued bowl I drew the dual leaf-frond pattern then applied wax resist carefully to articulate the design. Then 3 coats of White Crackle was applied with a wide hake brush to the entire piece. A small damp sponge cleaned off the waxed pattern if glaze stuck there. It was fired to 1750F and allowed to cool in the kiln.Then with a soft fan brush Blue Velvet was applied over the entire piece and right away you can see the crackles absorbing the glaze. This takes practice not to brush the glaze off the crackles. Be patient. Where the pattern was waxed and burned out, the bowl will have a pure Blue Velvet  glaze. Fire to 1800F and post fire.

The design of the flying geese was made like this:

First the geese were drawn to a scale that suited the size of the bowl in different flying configurations, then 3 coats of Mayco White glaze was carefully applied with a fine brush. The bowl was fired to 1700F and allowed to cool in the kiln. Next, 3 coats of Blue Velvet were applied with a wide hake brush on the exterior. A damp sponge cleaned off the white geese if glaze stuck there. Finally Silver Nitrate (see Silver Nitrate section for application info.) was applied to the interior of the piece. It was fired to 1800F post-fired and left to cool in the bucket. Do not wash the interior!

The Walking Buddha vase was made like this:

The design of the Walking Buddha was drawn on the exterior of the vase so that when it was rotated on the banding wheel it appeared as if the figures were 'walking' or resembling the revolutions of a prayer wheel. They were waxed out, then 3 coats of White Crackle was applied to the exterior only (waxed areas cleaned with a small damp sponge if glaze stuck there)and fired to 1700F and allowed to cool in the kiln. Then Alligator was applied to the exterior of the vase and the crackles of the White Crackle glaze absorb the glaze thus creating the crackle effect. The Buddhas, having the Alligator only, reduced beautifully.The interior was glazed with Silver Nitrate. The vase was fired to 1800F ,post fired and let cool in the bucket. Do not wash the interior!

The interior of this bowl was created like this:

The fish were painted with 3 coats of Spectrum Apple Red and a thin coat of wax resist then painted over them. The bowl was glazed with 3 coats of Blue Velvet (cleaning off the fish with a damp sponge) but leaving the center of the bowl unglazed. Finally the center of the piece received a hefty pour of Turquoise glaze and allowed to dry completely. It was fired to 1800F,post-fired, bucket 'burped' once for 15 seconds, then with lid on allowed to cool completely.

Crescent Moon and Wave design was made like this:

The Crescent Moon and Wave design is tedious but makes a lovely Japanese motif. I drew it on the bowl then applied 3 coats of Mayco White glaze. It was fired to 1700F and allowed to cool in the kiln. Then 3 coats of Blue Velvet was applied to the entire piece (the design was cleaned with a small damp sponge if glaze stuck there)and fired to 1800F. The bucket was 'burped' for 10 seconds, then lid on and let cool completely.

When painting glaze over a fine drawing you can clean up the lines using the sharp end of a wooden skewer.

The Stand of Cranes Vase was made like this:

The cranes were drawn on the exterior of the vase and then painted with 3 coats of Mayco White glaze. The fine beaks and legs were refined with a wooden skewer). It was fired to 1700F and let cool in the kiln. Then 3 coats of Blue Velvet were painted over the exterior and with a small damp sponge cleaning any glaze stuck on the crane design. The interior was glazed with Silver Nitrate. The piece was fired to 1800F, the bucket 'burped' once for 10 seconds. then lid on until cool. Do not wash the interior. (*See Silver Nitrate section for more information.)