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HOW TO COLOR YOUR CLAY

Making your clay a different color gives you a lot of decorative possibilities.
Strong colors can be achieved for creation of bold and striking pieces, while pastel colors make for subtle variations in tone.
There are a lot of colorants and many different hues on the market that you can buy.
White firing clays are the best for making bright colors.
Always test the intensity of commercial colorants by mixing sample batches of colored clay using quantities of 5 percent colorant upward.
At bisque temperature the colors will appear dull and muted but they will intensify at higher temperatures.
If you are using oxides to stain you clay, keep in mind that if you use a large quantity, it will act as a flux in the body and lower the maturing temperature of the clay.
Calculating the quantity of colorant by weight is always a more accurate method and will give greater control when you need repeat batches of the same color.
Mix the stain with powdered clay or add a little water to the stain to make a paste and knead it into plastic clay in the same way that you would add grog.
You can use commercially bought decorating slips and pour them onto plaster bats to remove some of the moisture, then you can peel them off of the bat and knead them to get them ready for use.

Here is how you do it.
First, mix about 10 percent blue body stain with powdered white porcelain clay.
Mix the two powders together while still dry.
Make sure to wear a mask because of the dust.

Slowly add some water to the dry powder, stirring to mix the powders evenly.
Add the water gradually or the clay can easily become to runny.
A slip trailer has been used to give better control over the flow of the water being added.

Mix the clay and stain thoroughly into a stiff paste.
Try not to make the mix too wet or too dry, it should have the consistency of soft plastic clay.
Scoop the clay from the bowl and knead it on a plaster bat until the color is evenly dispersed all through the clay and is in a workable condition.

Tips - Definitions - Clay Projects - Pottery Gallery - Pottery Tools - Glazes - All About Clay

Have you ever come up with a good idea while working with your handmade pottery or ceramics and thought that you would like to share it with others? You have? Well, why not send it to us and we will add it to the tips page for all to see.

Handmade pottery can be a very gratifying hobby that produces fun and satisfying results. For many people it's an enjoyable release that is created by working an inanimate mound of clay into a beautiful work of art that you made through your artistic abilities.

The best way of starting out is to take a few lessons. You will probably waste quite a bit in materials when you first get started. Figuring out how to truly make handmade pottery correctly and shape into what you want it to be can be quite an ordeal. The different tools that a normal shop will have can be fun to try. You will soon see which ones you like to use the most and then when you are ready you will know which ones to buy.

With the help of the internet, you can now purchase most if not all of your ceramic and pottery tools and supplies online. We are located far from any well supplied dealers and yet working with reliable ceramic and pottery suppliers online has allowed us to recieve most of our orders within a timely manner.

When you get all set up, just enjoy the hobby and have fun at it. Some people get pretty serious and start selling their creations at craft fairs and small stores, but others just like to create items for themselves, relatives, and friends. Whichever kind of handmade pottery you desire to endeavor, enjoy the hobby and have fun doing it.