ColorAcademy 2005

Ceramics

Introduction

It’s been traditional to use metal oxides to colour ceramics. As insoluble powders they are dispersed in water and painted onto the unfired but glazed surface of the clay. On firing, they melt and fuse with the glaze, and look a very different colour after firing. There is a great variety of oxide powders for colouring ceramics.The most popular are the cobalts for blues, copper for greens, iron for reds and browns, manganese for purples and browns.For making a glaze opaque tin oxide is used, and zirconium oxide, zinc oxide, and titanium oxide will also alter the quality surface and whiteness of the glaze when fired.

The most important methods of applying colours are the following:
- Painting, by hand and lining or branding.
- Spraying.
- Stencilling.
- Stamping.
- Printing and lithography.
- Silkscreen printing.

These processes are described in detail in Ernst Rosenthal’s book on Pottery and Ceramics.

Bibliography

COOPER, E. (1972) A History of Pottery. London: Longman.

HINCHCLIFFE, J. and BARBER, W. (1994) Ceramic Style. London: Castle.

ROSENTHAL, E. (1949) Pottery and Ceramics. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

SHAW, K. (1963) Ceramic Colours and Pottery Decoration. London: McClaren. This is a manual for the chemist, technologist, factory manager, craftsman potter and student.

Vase Photograph, photographer: John Foliot. Contact "bytown" at www.sxc.hu.