Surface decoration is all the rage in ceramics right now, and here at The Ceramic Shop, we can help you find everything you need to get drawing on clay! Because this corner of ceramic products has really blown up, we’re also here to help you understand all of the different tools that are on the market right now.
Designer Liners are versatile, underglaze-like pigments that come packaged in a bottle and are applied via slip-trailing. Their firing range is wide, from cone 06 all the way up to cone 6, and they leave behind an opaque, slightly dimensional line. This product isn’t glassy like a glaze, so it stays put on a surface -- even under a glossy topcoat.
Glaze Markers have a felt-tipped delivery system for the liquid inside of the marker chamber -- of all of our Draw On Clay products, these come the closest to feeling like you are drawing with an ink marker. These tools generally contain a pigment-saturated liquid, and many are available in a variety of tip sizes.
Glaze Pens comprise ergonomic packaging that allows glaze or underglaze materials to be easily squeezed out onto a surface -- there is no felt-tipped intermediary, as you see with glaze markers. The application for glaze pens is very much like slip-trailing; making delicate glazed designs like lines and dots are a breeze. We carry both glaze and underglaze pens.
Metallic Luster Pens contain liquid lusters in an easy-to-apply format. Rather than applying your luster overglaze with a little tiny brush, try one of these pens - you are sure to be happy with the level of control that pen packaging affords here. Most of these lusters can be applied just like ink, and then fired to luster temperatures. Our customers have loved the ease with which they have been able to write on their pieces in gold!
Underglaze Chalks are perfect if you love the look of pastel or chalk illustration, but have had a hard time translating that to your clay surface. Although they can work on a variety of surfaces, they tend to work best when applied to bisqueware. Simply draw directly on your piece, then coat with an overglaze (or leave unglazed), and fire. The firing range of underglaze chalks vary according to color -- reds and purples do well at low-fire temperatures, while blues and blacks can generally be fired much higher, up to cone 10.
Underglaze Pencils look like regular colored pencils, but they actually contain an underglaze core that can deliver colored pencil-like effects in a permanent form. Available in many different colors, underglaze pencils are as useful as they are decorative -- keep one in your studio to easily and permanently mark test tiles. Like underglaze chalks, you can take a wet paintbrush to your finished illustration and make it look a bit more like a watercolor.
If you have questions about any of our products designed for drawing on clay, give us a call! We will be happy to help you find the perfect tools for lighting up the surface of your work.
