Printing on Bisque Tiles?

[Annie F.]

I have been asked if I could make tiles for a kitchen backsplash, using some of my fish prints. There is one of those paint-your-own ceramics places in Richmond, VA (about 70 miles from me) that I have used before, but not printed at. They do have rubber stamps and such for people to use so I know printing is possible. Since I use Safety-Kut as my plates I am pretty sure I can print onto the bisque tiles.

Any advice, suggestions, warnings?

[Printmakerguy]

I have seen this done before, and the results were OUTSTANDING.

You'll probably have to play around a bit before you get the technique down, and don't expect all the edges of your prints to be quite as sharp as if they were done in ink on paper- The glazes are so much more runny.

Depending on the glaze, you might want to brush or roll- Try one of those smaller foam trim rollers. You can also 'dip' the block into the glaze, but I'd imagine that this would be harder to control on anything but a small tile.

The nice thing is if you mess up, all you have to do is wash the tile off with water and start over. Until the glaze has been fired, it comes right off!

You'll probably have to stick to dark colors, as I know many of the light colors require multiple coats in order to show up well, which seems like it would be tough to get right with a block printing.

One thing to watch with the glazes is the colorfastness of it- I have done a couple of pieces at those 'paint your own' places, and some of the colors have faded BADLY in only 1-2 years! You might want to check on that, as it would be a shame to have your work fade away quickly...

[H2O_Baby]

Annie:

Good idea, I haven't done our backsplash yet (it has only been 2.25 years since we finished most of the kitchen). I haven't worked with low fire glazes - years ago I did work with high fire ceramics. I have a book called Ceramics & Print by Paul Scott. It's been years since I read it but there are tons of ways to transfer images to clay. Maybe your library can track this down for you.

Also if you want to make your own tiles perhaps you can find a ceramic artist in your area who rents out studio space on a per-hour basis. I know of one in my area who does this.

Andrew, if you put a white coat under the light colors will it do better? Kind of like painting wood without a primer otherwise.

Annie, maybe someone in the clay forum has done this and can advise.

[Printmakerguy]

Originally Posted by H2O_Baby

Andrew, if you put a white coat under the light colors will it do better? Kind of like painting wood without a primer otherwise.

If you are painting Bisque tiles, they will already be white- They have already had a firing with a white on them.

-Andrew

[H2O_Baby]

Amie, here is someone posting who is painting on tiles. Perhaps this person can help.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=566914

Andrew, color of the bisque I believe depends upon what type of clay. Stoneware will be an earthy color. Still the question remains, is there an underglaze that acts like a primer for paint?

And I bet you can do a lot with raku and printmaking...

[fifthhorsm]

annie,
for a number of years my brother as a little sideline to his 9 to 5 job supplied all the paint-your-own type shops in the area with greenware and bisque. i was once shown a way of printing that seemed to work nicely... instead of appling glaze via brayer, hard to get enough and hard to control amount on block.... they used a glass plate and put a spoon full or so on to it and spread it around evenly with a feather into a rather thick coat then used the block like a rubber stamp onto the glass then onto the clay.... as i say seemed to work good and was very repeatable. kinda of a controled dipping.... remember each time you have to stir the glaze good as they seperate very fast.

barb...... thanks!!!!! you gave me a thought.... emboss the wet clay with a block then raku fire..... i love raku and the kitchen is in need.... xxooxxoo
now if i can talk or more likely bribe my brother into making a couple hundred tiles.... and the neighbors don't tar and feather me for raku firing in the back yard.......
mike

[H2O_Baby]

Mike, throw a few fish or shell tiles on for me - here you have to get a burn permit from Jan to May and it is only good for branches (not newspaper). Can you do raku with branches? There are a lot of trees behind my house...

[fifthhorsm]

barb,
fish and shells was what i had in mind, being within walking distance from the ocean...
burn permit? that sort of thing went away decades ago here.
i don't know about branches or newspaper.... we used leaves.
i do things like this at night with a little breeze blowing to disperse the smoke. otherwise would have a yard full of cops and firemen. neighbors for the most part have learned to look over the fence....he's just on his patio welding something again.....
mike

Another old thead...How about running wet clay tiles through the press, using the linocut to actually emboss the tiles, then bisque, then colour/glaze...It's been running through my mind...