Hi, Marie here with another Sponge Glazing video. This time I'm going to
show you how to Sponge Glaze with Underglaze. Sponge glazing with Underglazes
can give you a bit more freedom to decorate because you can Underglaze on
leather hard, bone dry, and bisque ware. Also, add more Underglaze at any stage.
For this Sponge Glazing Project, I had some Underglaze, a Hack brush, a Strainer,
and some Lids. Sponges, a few shallow containers for your Underglaze. A little
Wax Resist, Clear Glaze, Bisque ware, a Banding Wheel, some water, and a Mixer.
Everything you need for this project is also listed down below in the show notes.
Let's get sponging. There are a few things that you should do before
glazing. First, clean your pottery. Wiping it down with the clean damp sponge is
fine. This step in Glazing should never be skipped. Dust particles or any other
dirt on your pottery can cause your glaze not to properly adhere even cause
pinholes.
Next, apply a little Wax Resist because it's easier and faster to wipe any glaze
off with a damp sponge. Always use a separate brush. You only need to apply a
thin coat. The last thing I want is to get any glaze on my Kiln shelf.
There, that's all you need.
Now let it dry. I have my Plate and shallow Bowl all washed and waxed and
ready to be sponged. I'm going to start with my plate. I'm using Amaco Amethyst
Underglaze and Amaco Pink Underglaze. Before I put it in the shallow container
I'm going to mix it well with my milk frother. This works really well. You want
the consistency of yogurt or sour cream. For your Underglaze. Now I'll put it in
the shallow container and start Sponging.
Before I apply the Amethyst Underglaze to my plate, I'm dabbing it on a white
lid to see the pattern that I want. That's good I'm gonna start in the
middle and work my way around. I don't want it too thick but I still want to
have enough coverage where it's not too white.
I want a nice pattern. That looks pretty good. This plate was made with Amaco
Stoneware 38 white Clay. Now that the Amethyst is dry I'm going to apply the
Amaco Pink Underglaze, and this time I have a darker lid so I can test the
pattern. See that's way too thick. Always check your sponge pattern before you put
it onto your plate. That looks good. Work my way around again. For more good tips
on Sponge Glazing you can check out my article on my website. I left a link for
you in the description below. That's good.
All the way around. Now I'll let this dry and we'll work on another piece. I'm
going to decorate my shallow Bowl in a little different way. This time I have
three Sponges and three Glazes. I'm gonna start with the Spectrum Sky Blue. I've
already mixed it well and put it into the shallow container. I'm going to start
with this Sponge, and make sure your sponge is damp. Put it in a ball like
that. Dab it in your Underglaze and then on to the plastic lid so you can see the
pattern. For the blue, I want a little thicker pattern. That looks good. I'm
gonna do that and work my way around.
I like that, pretty good
That's the pattern I want to create. Now that it's dry I'm going to apply Yellow
Spectrum. Take my sponge and round it. Make sure it's damp. Dab it. I can't
forget my lid. Check the pattern I want. That looks good, and I'm going to go
around the edge.
Now I'm going to use a different Sponge to create a different look. I'm going to
use the corner of this sponge and use Spectrum Spring Green. And just get the
corner. Get a little more on that. Like that. Test it out on my lid to
get the pattern I want. I like that and I'm going to go across
and give it a little abstract look.
I like that. Looks good
Dab it.
Just go right across the plate. I think I'll add a few more. Now that my Sponge
Glazing Plate and shallow Bowl are dry it's time to Glaze them. Always run your
Glaze through a strainer to catch any clumps or debris that may be lurking in
your Glaze. Which there usually is with mine. Then I like to mix it with my milk
frother. Medium-sized Hack Brush and I'll put the first coat of glaze on.
Don't be afraid to load up your brush.
If you're new to Glazing you can check out my article on 27 Glazing Tips for
Beginners. I left a link for you in the description below.
You don't want to smudge the Underglaze so you don't want to apply too much
pressure on your brush. A little too thick in the middle there, I saw pooling.
Okay. Now let it dry and into the Skutt Kiln they go for a final fire at Cone 5.
Here's the finished bowl. The sponging technique turned out really
nice. And the Plate pattern and colors really pop. If you have any questions or
comments let me know in the comment section below.
Sponge Glazing gives you many ways to decorate your pottery and give you
different patterns. With a little imagination I'll bet you can come up
with some cool patterns and designs yourself, To help me play with more clay
head on over to my other videos so I can make more of these fun videos for you.
I'll see you in the next video.