Why Decals?

The test tiles came out of the kiln this morning, and the color from our new ceramic decal printer is amazing. Check out these photos of real fired-on ceramic overglaze. This lead-free color system is fired onto the pots to 1500 F. I'll be writing more about this journey in the coming days but wanted to start with a post adressing the question....Why switch to decals?

For years I have been drawing little critters and captions on my pots using a range of high-fire overglazes I developed. I initially used a calligraphy pen but switched more and more to a slip trailer. I've always enjoyed doodling on paper and this was the closest technique I could make work in ceramics. I had experimented previously with mishima, sgraffito, maijolica painting, and straight up glaze brushwork. Both the process and quality of line for the overglaze drawings were very liberating and exciting and special, and worked great for quick, black & white drawings.

Over time I began experimenting with color overglazes, drawing overglaze around glazed colour swatches, and achieving a different feel using varied line weight. I was happy with a lot of the results, but my overglaze drawing technique did feel like it was limiting. The color pallete felt constrained because I was firing high (cone 6), base glaze requirements and likely because of chemical interactions with the frits and ceramic stains in the overglaze.

 While I love the pots and will continue working in this manner, I was eager to try new things.

 

I had several goals when I decided to evaluate and test the use of decals...

A) Speed. The drawing was the longest part of the process and I had a backlog of pots piling up to draw on. If I spent too much time drawing I would yearn for some wheel time, go throw some, and then realize I now had an even bigger backlog to decorate. Also, if I drew for more than a few hours, my slip trailer hand would cramp up. By drawing once on paper, scanning, and printing limited editions, I am hoping to speed up the decorating phase and keep up with my throwing.

B) Varied Line Weight. I wanted to experiment with varied line weight to achieve a slightly more sophisticated or accomplished drawing.

C) Wider color range. The combination of my base glaze, firing temperature, and frits really limited the colored overglaze "inks" to a handful of colors I liked. Perhaps more testing was in order, but I tested A LOT of options to arrive at that handful.

D) Multi-media. I am interested in lavishing attention on my original drawings on paper, using fine line, colored pencil, watercolor, pastels, etc. Then I can scan these and create decals for my pots. I can also sell the original drawings and/or editions of giclee prints.

E) Base glaze options. With the process I developed, I really only had one base glaze that worked well. Luckily it was the first one I tested because it was my most favorite glaze. However, feeling constrained chafed a bit. I'm sure I could have tested other glazes with other overglaze options using the same application method, but... I'm a dork. I like technology.

In the meantime, here are my first quick tests, using scanned drawings and Photoshop to add color...

I'll post more results as the experiment progresses. You can also read more about the printer evaluation and purchase on the MudFire blog, where I've got a parallel post with a different focus.

It Begins

We have just launched a new MudFire blog and are really excited. We've got a ton of posts and articles in the works and will frequently have cool art, studio member profiles, best of kiln photos, how to and technique information, and all other sorts of art, clay, and community goodness.

The first post is a cool video made at Burning Man, without which, perhaps there would be no MudFire? Perhaps it was inevitable but it sure speeded us along.


Visit the New MudFire Blog

Best of 2011

What an incredible year! I hope everyone had as much fun as we did here at MudFire.

My work was included in a bunch of cool shows at the end of the year including a virtual exhibit by NCECA at the SOFA Chicago show, holiday shows at the J. Michael Kohler Art Center and Crimson Laurel Gallery, and the Dining with FRANK show in Chapel Hill. And of course at the MudFire Holiday Show where I've still got a few pieces left for sale.

Here's one pot from my Best of 2011 album that I just posted on my artist website. They are a dozen of my favorite pot shots from a busy year in the studio.

Don't Be a Dick

Here's a new one headed to Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, NC for their Containment 2 show . . . titled "Don't be a Dick".

File Me Frigid

Ha! Today I had a very very cold learning experience. I'm helping a local school start up some raku firings, and we assembled and test fired their purchased raku kiln by Olympic today. Its a cool little getup that came welded onto a little rolling cart so it can roll in and out of the building. It was a really cool, make that cold, getup today as we were out in the near freezing windy courtyard for an inaugural firing.
So we get it all connected and in place out doors and try to fire it up, and there is just no gas at all coming of the pilot orifice. We try everything we can think of but this simple setup with a Baso safety valve is not giving us gas.
Troubleshooting 101: take everything apart then put it all back together. I get back to where the regulator plugs into the propane tank back it out, then screw it back in and it feels a little looser and screws in a little further and we hear a little whoosh of escaping gas but I can't screw the plug in any further to seal it. Bust out the wrenches and tighten it a couple turns and we are ready to roll. Kiln lights up perfectly just like you'd expect.
At this point we're a little too chilly to hang around outside and futz with it more, but I bet that if I screwed it in and backed it out a couple times with the wrenches, then I could tighten it by hand like I've done in the past with every other propane tank I've ever used. I think maybe since it was a brand new tank and brand new fitting on the regulator, they were just a little too sticky for the hand tightening to work until they'd been worn in a bit.
Go figure, and while you are at it....file me under Frigid! It was a fun learning experience but I wish it had happened in Cancun and not lying on cold concrete all morning!

A bunch of MudFire folks have some pots in a new show at Gallery Walk at Terminus here in Atlanta, one of the biggest, swankiest new buildings in town. My set of pots is above. Here are the curator's notes and artist list from the brochure...


Georgia Clay

Georgia has a long history of clay being used to produce vessels of all shapes and sizes. Our agrarian roots spawned the tradition of using earth to make functional objects like pots, jugs, mugs, platters and vases for everyday use. That tradition still runs deep in Georgia, but there are also artists who are using the medium in new and innovative ways. The art form that these artists explore is not necessarily “functional,” but a more sculptural, artistic expression using clay, porcelain and ceramics as the medium. Some artists use their clay form almost as a three-dimensional canvas on which to paint and draw their thoughts and ideas while others seemingly push the physical limits of what clay can withstand in order to make gravity defying sculptural objects.

All of the artists in this exhibition are schooled in the tradition of their craft but have chosen to explore a more unconventional direction in their artwork. Represented by galleries such as The Signature Shop in Buckhead and MudFire in Decatur, these artists are nurtured in our community and are flourishing in their artistic explorations.

– Anne Lambert Tracht, Curator

ARTISTS
AJ Argentina | Eileen Braun | Glenn Dair
Martin Dawe | Debra Fritts | Jennifer Graff
Krista Grecco | Erik Haagensen | Ron Meyers
Andy Nasisse | Mario Petrirena | Barry Rhodes
Adrina Richard | Stefan Ritter | Luba Sharapan
Kirsten Stingle | Gregor Turk | Pandra Williams

Georgia Clay
October 13, 2010 – January 14, 2011
case study at TERMINUS 200

Busy Summer, AKAR

Holy infrequentness of posting batman!

Guess its been a busy summer, not the least of which is the big Hooper plates project. I took his family crest, and made six prototype platters all using different decorative techniques. Sent 'em out, got 'em back, and got to work duplicating the winner 13 times. Its not done yet but almost done and done enough to breathe easy finally. Here's a peak at the in process...

Just got back from southern Minnesota for a wedding, survived my first mid-West summer extreme storm with 90 mile an hour winds and hail, enjoyed a free first class upgrade from Delta on the way home (bloody marys!) and got home to find a non-descript envelope...

...INVITING ME TO SHOW AT AKAR GALLERY!

Very exciting, in fact let's say just as exciting as having San Francisco artist Diana Fayt come to MudFire to teach for back-to-back weekend workshops starting Thursday.