Oxide Washes and Wax Resist

How to use wax resist and oxide washes on a glaze.

[@suehoot6256]

Love your tutorials, thank you from Australia

[@Queensthief195]

That butterfly! Absolutely love it. Reminds me of etching. Similar in that you apply resist, then scratch into it with a pin tool. Of course then the line is etched with acid and ink applied into the grooves to print. But I find this has a similar look! Very very cool. Thank you.

[@AH-mw8gq]

You’re fantastic!! “Have some patience… hard to do but have some patience is spot on in pottery. It’s a pleasure watching you. Thank you for these great videos 🙏🏼☺️

[@richardmccoll9297]

Thank you for your kind comment. Pottery helped teach me patience, acceptance and perseverance despite many setbacks. Take care and keep squeezing clay, enjoy the process and celebrate the successes.

[@kathypatten8723]

Gorgeous! Thank you. Can't wait to try this!

[@sharonatseanicstudios9970]

You are so inspiring. Thank you.

[@boris8857]

Excellent video. Watching from Perth in Western Australia

[@blaisethemaskedchick]

Thank you so much for sharing such valuable informations, your designs are very beautiful! Thanks a lot from France.

[@richardmccoll9297]

Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it from California.

[@helenangus1675]

Oh thank you so much another great lesson I have learnt much.

[@richardmccoll9297]

You are so very welcome. Enjoy!

[@melodycopp6777]

Beautiful work !

[@richardmccoll9297]

Thank you!

[@peggychan640]

I absolutely loved your technique, what a beautiful design!😍👍 I’m a beginner potter, can you make a video for this technique with more details, and which commercial products I can use to do this! please! Please! Please! Thank you!😁

[@richardmccoll9297]

Hi Peggy, Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I will do my best to respond. The wax resist I like now is made by Aftosa. You do not need to buy a lot and it can be thinned with water to your taste. Beware of thinning it too much which will reduce the resist. I am currently working on my studio and eventually will produce some more videos. I am releasing a video or two a week from my teaching during the pandemic. These are all demonstrations designed for my college ceramic classes, from beginning to advanced. Enjoy!

[@ninelmarkovic3093]

Thanks a lot for the video

[@richardmccoll9297]

Thank you for watching! I hope you can make some beautiful pieces using this technique.

[@tonjewaaktaargamst8232]

Very useful, thank you! The butterfly 💪🏻🩵 Tonje, from Norway ❄️

[@richardmccoll9297]

Thank you! I love your beautiful country.

[@jeskinner4860]

Love the butterfly, is it done through the white glaze with a needle tool, then waxed, then black oxide over? Hope I have worked this out correctly, I wanted to do insects so this I think would work.Mercy.

[@richardmccoll9297]

Yes, glaze, wax, needle tool, and oxide wash is how to do it. I will also use a thinned black glaze sometimes instead of the oxide wash for a softer line. Try to draw into the wax with the needle tool soon after the wax dries and use a glaze that bonds well to the bisque that has clay in the recipe or it may flake off the piece. Timing, practice, and patience works well with this technique. Good luck and have fun.

[@Ambikaaaa]

Hi Richard, thank you for the lovely videos. I wanted to know whether the Cobalt is in oxide form or carbonate form?

[@richardmccoll9297]

I prefer the carbonate form because it dissolves better in the glaze. The cobalt oxide is a bit stronger, easier to see but it can leave little spots. Because the cobalt is hard to see when in a wash before firing I will add a tiny bit of Iron oxide and a little manganese dioxide to darken it for application. This is also in line with the history of cobalt of not being as pure as we get it today. We have to add a little impurity to tone down the blue to be more like the ancient cobalt blues.

[@lallukumarsharma]

Beautiful work. Can you please share the recipes of oxide washes? I have the ingredients in powdered form. If not, please direct me to where I can get some. Will this work equally well for cone 6 firing? Additionally, Do I have to have the item glazed ( but not fired ) first or I Can start with a clean bisqueware? I was thinking of working on a bisque ware with no glaze on, then art work with the washes and then final clear glaze. Thanks,

[@richardmccoll9297]

Thank you for watching. Check out my other video on oxide painting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXmzl4mgiJyqa6s I keep my oxides simple and mix most by volume except for the black wash which I got from Tom Coleman. Most have clear glaze mixed in to help suspend the mix and slightly flux it. Rutile and chrome are refractory and need some help melting so I add a bit of Gerstley borate (calcium borate) which is a natural material that lowers the melting temperature. These can be adjusted to your taste and how you apply and fire them so this can be a starting point for you. If you use commercial stains like those produced by Mason add some Gerstley borate to suspend them because they like to settle. Here is how I do it: Oxide Wash Recipes Use the proportions BY VOLUME: • 2 Tablespoons of oxide • 1 Tablespoon of liquid clear glaze • Add Water to thin to ink consistency Iron - Brown Red Iron Oxide Water (no glaze) Cobalt - Blue Cobalt Carbonate (you can use cobalt oxide which is stronger but coarser and can cause speckling) Water (no glaze) Rutile - Tan (tends to bleach and mottle dark glazes) Rutile 2 tbl Gerstley Borate 2 tbl Chrome - Green Chrome Oxide 2 tbl Gerstley Borate 2 tbl Iron and Rutile - Rust Gold Red Iron Oxide 2 tbl Rutile 1 tbl Clear Glaze of your choice (wet) 1 ½ tbl Cobalt and Rutile - Mottled Blue Cobalt Carbonate 2 tbl Rutile 1 tbl Clear Glaze 1 ½ tbl Black - by weight Red Iron Oxide 25 Cobalt Carbonate 15 Manganese Dioxide 10 Chrome Oxide 5 Gerstley Borate 10 If you want to use stains it will depend on the temperature that you fire your ware to. For mid range and high fire pottery, cones 5-11, water is all you need. Some of the stains will settle and require frequent stirring which can be reduced by adding some clear glaze (of your choice) or a brushing medium. Some oxides (like chrome oxide and Rutile) and some stains are refractory and will need help melting so you might have to add gerstley borate or a frit. The best way to tell is to test it. Most stains will not melt or bond without the help of a flux at low temperatures, cone 06-04. Be careful putting oxide under a glaze because it is like putting dust on your piece which will resist the glaze leaving bare spots. Think of the oxide washes as a way to add the oxide of your choice to an existing glaze. The Chinese blue and white ware like Ming, is painted under a clear glaze. If you use another glaze the oxide will mix with the glaze in the firing and change the color of the glaze you put over it. I will often "stain" a textured piece with oxides and wipe the high points off to enhance the texture. Beware of refractory oxides like chrome oxide and Rutile because it will change the surface texture of the glaze and firing temperature of the glaze you put over them. They don't melt well at even cone 10 without the addition of a flux.

[@ImranMalik-eu5qj]

How do the make coting glaze

[@rudigerschachtschneider4183]

Hello,Thank you for your lovely video. I just have one question about the transparent Glace. You fire the oxide mixed (with water) colours with the wax and than you make a second fireing for transparent Glace? Or you add on top of the wax a transparent Glace and make a Glace fireing?

[@richardmccoll9297]

Hi, The oxides are mixed with water then brushed on unfired glaze which when fired melts together and becomes one. There are no colors mixed with the wax, it is applied on the unfired glaze, allowed to dry, then the oxide wash is brushed over. Where the wax is it prevents the oxide from staining the glaze and where the wax is not the oxide blends with the glaze. The two melt together in the glaze firing and the wax burns away so it is unnecessary to add any other glaze or do additional firings.

[@casteretpollux]

@@richardmccoll9297 thankyou. This is on a bisque fired plate with white glaze?

[@karenmchugh5511]

I wish you would have shown the finished plate.

[@lallukumarsharma]

can you please share the recipes of oxide washes? I have the ingredients in powdered form. If not, please direct me to where I can get some. Thanks,

[@tunievanwyk8595]

Thank you for making these available to the public. What glaze are you using to do the painting on?

[@richardmccoll9297]

Hi, Thank you for watching. I use a variety of cone 10 glazes to use the washes on. The small plate that I show is a basic white, high calcium glaze, I called Very White: This is a stable, food safe, durable glaze. The oxide lines stay where you put them! I split the clay with a primary clay, EPK, and a secondary clay with more impurities which tends to help the color reaction particularly with copper. Very White: C/10 either reduction or oxidation Custer Feldspar 33.0 Whiting 20.0 EPK/Kaolin 7.5 OM-4 Ball Clay 7.5 Silica 32.0 total 100.0 For White add: 12% Zircopax (any zirconium opacifier will do)

[@tunievanwyk8595]

Thank you so much for the recipe..i.will give it a try although i have a small gas kiln that i have never fired to cone 10. So i will give it a try.

[@richardmccoll9297]

@@tunievanwyk8595 Very White has a good range of about cone 8-11 so it can be fired in a variety of kilns and atmospheres. The very best thing to do is try it!

[@tunievanwyk8595]

@@richardmccoll9297 thank you

[@kasandrahawk939]

Hi, I use Bmix and embed designs into it with black mountain clay, I fire at cone 10 in a gas kiln. I'm having a challenge finding a glaze that lets the black mtn design show through. Any suggestions? I was thinking of using an iron oxide and then a clear glaze, if this works, what clear glaze would you suggest that works at high fire? thanks for thoughts.

[@richardmccoll9297]

Hi Kasandra, Thank you for your kind comments. I produced the videos during my last year of teaching during the pandemic to give my students the same demos I gave in person. I have used several glazes with the inlayed clay. Clears will bleach the iron so it won’t be the rich brown that you expect. I use my celadon without iron with the addition of some Gerstley borate to increase the brilliance and clarity. A celadon is another good choice. My favorite glaze to use over inlays is a buttery matt yellow applied thinly called Winokur Yellow because the brown is beautiful and the white clay is a pale yellow. Any glaze applied thinly will help seal the clay and give the surface a light sheen which is good for non functional surfaces. 7% Clear - cone 10 Custer Feldspar 25 Whiting 18 Gerstley Borate 7 EPK (Kaolin) 18 Silica 32 Winokur Yellow -cone 10 Reduction Custer Feldspar 440.3 Dolomite 170.5 EPK 188.5 Whiting 36.2 Zircopax 136.3 Tin Oxide 28.2 Add: Red Iron Oxide 10.0 for yellow Iron oxide underneath a glaze presents some unexpected results. It looks extremally dark and strong when applied and can disappear when a glaze is applied over it. Another thing that happens is if you apply it strong enough the glaze over it can crawl leaving bare spots, it is like applying glaze over dusty bisque. Finally iron is funny in that it is a colorant and can be a powerful flux causing your lines to blur and run. The best approach is to experiment with different techniques on pieces you do not care about to come up with a satisfying result. Iron is non-toxic so it is food safe. Take care and keep squeezing clay, Richard

[@jb3833]

Do you put a zinc free clear over the plate to make it food safe? Thank you!

[@richardmccoll9297]

The oxides melt into the glaze and color whatever glaze that you paint them on. If the base glaze is food safe the oxide painted glaze will be safe. If you apply another glaze over your decoration it will dilute the colors and blur the lines. Be careful to not saturate the oxides to a point where after the firing the oxide painted glaze is dry to the touch. This is a problem with chrome oxide and rutile because they are refractory. If you are concerned, there are testing labs where you can send a sample to see if anything leaches which I have done for barium based glazes. Thanks for the question, Richard

[@PennyRitz]

I have some madnesium oxide... is there any wash I can use that with? Thanks so much for these videos. I hope, even retired, that you are still creating. It would be such a loss of talent if you were not!

[@richardmccoll9297]

I think you mean magnesium oxide. This is a flux not a colorant. It is an ingredient in soft buttery matte glazes and in the oxide state is used to create crawly glazes which shrink and bead on the surface of the pot.

[@deannak1841]

Ok I'm very green when it comes to ceramics, i don't understand glaze chem...is there an oxide that will give purple or pink? I'm a painter i understand pigments. Can i use stains as a wash- just water n stain?

[@richardmccoll9297]

Everyone starts out where you are but as you work, you ask questions and learn even about glaze chemistry. For pink you need to use a stain while purple can be beautiful with a high magnesium glaze...oops, chemistry. Look for a satin matt that is buttery to the touch and chances are the flux in it is magnesium. When you have found one try it with a thin wash of water and cobalt. All commercial stains are not alike because some are more refractory (don't like to melt} than others and you need to add a flux to it before using it as a wash with water as the medium} Stains that are beautiful unfired may come out clear after firing due to sensitivity to the atmosphere in the kiln and temperature they are fired to. I have used gerstley borate or frits to flux the stains that are dry to the touch after firing. Stains also are pre-fired for you and ground so they are courser than the natural metals like iron and cobalt so you will need something to help suspend it in the water. Gerstley borate is a natural ingredient that both fluxes and suspends anything with it so an easy starting point is to add equal parts of stain and gerstley and enough water to suspend the mix (when brushed it should be thin like ink, not thick like poster paint. Try one, two and three strokes on the glaze of your choice, fire and adjust the mix. It is too bad that we have to fire tests to get the results and not just taste it like cooking or see it like paint. Good luck and have fun experimenting to your dream pottery. Richard

[@deannak1841]

@@richardmccoll9297 thank you so much, that was excellent

[@richardmccoll9297]

@@deannak1841 thank you for your kind words.

[@deannak1841]

@@richardmccoll9297 it would be brilliant if you could do a live workshop or show of some sort, I would love to be able pick your brain from time to time. I have so many questions as I'm sure many others do...mostly regarding chem reactions n such, most of what I find is very basic, often Google doesn't even understand what I'm asking. Thank you so much for all you do, you have a wonderful relationship with ceramics.

[@richardmccoll9297]

@@deannak1841 Hi Deanna, I retired from teaching and put my demonstration videos onto KZbin this last year to share a little of my ceramics joy. I am currently sorting out my new life and not teaching any more but who knows what the future will bring. Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to reply. Take care, Richard

[@casteretpollux]

At what stage is this plate? Bisque fired? Slip covered?

[@richardmccoll9297]

The plate has been bisqued and coated with a glaze that works well with the oxides.