Part 3

Some of the professionals who do the finest work for the English and French manufacturers, mix their paste with two parts of fat oil and one part of oil of tar. The paste should be mixed to a half thick consistency with the oil that is to be used, and worked until it is smooth. Special care should be taken to following these instructions.

The paste now being about like freshly mixed china colors, stir with a knife and breathe upon it. Keep stirring until it is hard and gathers to the knife in a stringy way.

Reducing the paste to the right consistency is the most important feature of the work. It should be of such consistency that when taken up it will keep in good shape while hanging to the paste brush.

If a small amount of water should be used instead of breathing upon it, great care should be used not to use too much. Too much humidity will cause the paste to become stiff.

A single long stroke produces the best results in laying paste lines. Frequent touches produces an uneven line which will mar the beauty of paste work. Be sure to lay the paste high and round like a thin cord. If it should flatten, too much oil has been used; breathe upon it again until proper consistency is obtained.

Keep paste in as small and round a heap as possible while it is being used. It is best to mix fresh paste for each day’s work. If you should wish to remix paste, use as little oil as possible.

To straighten an uneven line cut the end of a brush handle to a sharp edge and smooth or move the line in place. A brush moistened with turpentine will sometimes do the work satisfactorily. Do not let the brush become clogged with paste while working. Clean it frequently by wiping it on a cloth. Dresden paste brushes are best for this work. Paste may be applied over fired colors or lustre if desired. Be sure the paste is well dried (not artificially) before firing. To obtain the best results paste should be fired before gold is applied. However, in case of emergency gold may be applied over unfired paste provided it is perfectly dry and hard.

If paste should, for any reason chip off, the space should be filled in with fresh paste. Dry thoroughly and apply gold—then fire as before. Unfluxed gold should be used over paste. For silver paste decoration, two applications of silver are necessary for best results.

GOLD

A brush used for gold should be used for that purpose only. Use turpentine or oil of lavender for moistening the brush—and after it has been rubbed well into the paste the latter will turn a thick brown color. Pour a very little turpentine on the paste if it is too dry and work well with a palette knife. A drop of liquid bright gold will soften Roman gold quickly. Don’t use turpentine if you use liquid gold.

Another way (although perhaps not quite as good a way) to soften gold quickly is to warm it over a flame, then add a little turpentine. The objection to this process is, that after it has cooled it is harder—and the results are not as satisfactory.

We find in gold work, it is safe to use liquid bright gold for the first firing and Roman gold for the second. Liquid bright makes a good foundation for Roman gold and makes a good wearing combination. It is not well to use unfluxed gold on hard china as it rubs off very easily. Roman gold is used for this china and hard or unfluxed gold on the softer wares, such as Belleek.

Gold requires a medium firing—and when practical it should be applied in the last two firings. If an article that is decorated with gold requires refiring on account of some defect in the other decorations, the gold will need to be gone over again or you may have to give the piece an extra firing for the gold.

If gold is overfired it will fade white; on the other hand, if it is underfired it will rub off in burnishing.

It is very necessary to remember one thing in burnishing gold. If any of the glass fibers are allowed to remain on the decoration when the article is undergoing a second firing, they will eat the colors, and the work will be nearly if not quite spoiled.

It is unwise to burnish an article near where you are working, as the particles get into the colors and act the same when the colors are fired.

Wash each article after burnishing. After each firing of an article, burnish the gold, for handling, or moisture from the hands, or dust are sure to show. Lustres are applied after the gold is burnished.

There are many reasons for gold looking dirty. Sometimes it is due to the china being dusty. Maybe the brushes were not clean or a poor quality of turpentine was used. Gold will not stand too much mixing, consequently it is well to have only the amount needed on the slab.

After the student has had some experience in handling gold, he will probably be able to apply it over unfired paste. The paste, however, must be absolutely dry. But the safest way to obtain the best results is to fire the paste first. Care should be taken not to apply the gold too thick or it will blister and peel off.

If liquid bright gold is used with Roman gold use no turpentine. In fact never use turpentine with liquid bright gold.

When it is found necessary to remove fired gold, it can be done with liquid china eraser.

Gold can be applied very evenly to the edges of round articles with the tip of the finger.

After silver has been fired, gold can be applied and vice versa, as one metal acts as a foundation for the other.

Mix one part of silver with two parts of unfluxed gold and you have green gold. For platinum effects mix liquid bright silver with Roman gold.

Nothing but unfluxed gold should be used with Belleek ware.

GOLD BURNISHING

The appearance of Roman gold when it comes from the kiln is Matt or dull. In order to bring out its natural brilliancy, scouring or burnishing is necessary. This can be done with a spun glass brush made for this purpose, or it can be burnished with a special sand. In case an article has to be refired, be sure to remove all of the glass fibres as they would ruin the decorations. The beauty of the unburnished gold will be destroyed by moisture from the fingers. If sand is used, moisten a soft cloth with water, and after dipping it in sand, rub the gold gently. After the gold is polished, the china can be washed. The china is underfired if the gold comes off in burnishing. The gold can be burnished more easily and more evenly if a coat of liquid gold is used in the first firing and Roman gold on the second.

LUSTRES

Cleanliness is one of the first requisites for success in using lustres. The brushes should be cleansed with Gold-Essence or Alcohol from all traces of one color before using another, and should not be allowed to dry containing any color. The corks should never be changed from one vial to another as the least contact of tints in the unfired state is liable to spoil the whole vial. The vial should be corked at once when not in use as the liquid evaporates rapidly; this will also guard against dust and upsetting.

A soft camel’s-hair brush, that can be dipped into the vial, will be needed; also a wad of cotton enclosed in a piece of silk to form a pad as for ordinary tinting.

Use great care in handling pieces tinted with lustre colors. Clean the china thoroughly, using alcohol, being careful to leave no finger marks on the piece. Dust in the brush, in the kiln or on the china will make blemishes. See that the work is not exposed to any dampness. After the work is completed handle as little as possible and if necessary to be wrapped, use tissue paper, not cotton. It is best to apply the lustre in the last firings. An even tint is obtained by several applications, but always fire for each application of the lustre. A second coat on an unfired coat of lustre will produce a blotchy effect.

If lustre has fired spotty or in an unsatisfactory manner the fault can usually be corrected by applying another wash of the same color or a darker tint. A generous application of Mother of Pearl lustre will also remedy the defect. If lustre should fire too light, apply another wash of the same color and refire.

Lustres dry quickly and therefore should be padded without delay. Always have the dabber ready so that there will be no time lost after the color is applied. A good plan would be to apply lustre over a part of the surface and quickly pad it smoothly, then apply the lustre over the balance and finish by padding. To retard drying, mix a very little oil of lavender with the lustre, on the palette. This will also assist in padding the lustre more successfully. It is difficult to apply lustre smoothly with a brush inside of cups and small bowls. To obviate this pour a small quantity into the bowl and spread it with a silk dabber. Be sure that the lint has been singed from dabber. Firing of lustres require a great deal of care. The piece should be placed in the kiln in such a way that no dust can fall on it. Be careful in drying lustres as the color will pulverize if the heat is too strong. On lustre and gold decorations care must be exercised in burnishing the gold so as not to rub the lustre, as it is very easily scratched. Lustre applied too thick is liable to crack and if applied over fired color will lose its brilliancy unless the color is a very light tint. Fired tints and lustres can be removed with hydrofluoric acid.

Lustres should have a medium fire. Deep color effects are obtained by repeated applications and firings. If lustre color is to be applied over gold, see that the gold is burnished. It is not advisable to apply painting colors over lustres as the combination is not a success. Lustres applied over fired Matt colors will produce a rich metallic effect which harmonizes beautifully with gold and paste work. A variety of metallic effects can also be obtained by applying a greenish bronze tone. Ruby will produce a strong dark metallic effect, and orange over gold produces a bluish purple bronze tone. Lustres applied over liquid bright gold will be very brilliant, but richer effects are obtained over Roman gold.

Silver lustres over light fire tints will have a frosted appearance, which is very effective combined with turquoise enamels and gold and paste work. A deep, rich maroon effect can be procured by painting two coats of purple lustre over liquid bright silver. Orange lustre over ruby will produce a strong scarlet color. Orange over blue, dark green or olive, will produce greenish tints. Over iridescent rose, a good bronze tone is obtained. Over gold, it will produce a purplish bronze effect.

Yellow is generally used for mixtures with blues, greens and grays to produce lighter tones. It is a light color and is mostly used for this purpose and for backgrounds. For a strong yellow effect give several applications and firings.

A single application of light green is a greenish gray. A more intense effect results from several applications. Light green lustre is very popular as a tint used in connection with gold. That is, it is applied after the gold is fired. Rose over liquid bright gold produces a strong metallic effect. If pink or rose is overfired it will have a purplish tone. A soft pearl effect is obtained from a light wash of yellow or light green over fired rose. A background of rose is most effective for paste and gold work.

Blending of blue, pink and gray are found in iridescent rose which can be used with very satisfactory results for a background, and inside of cups and bowls. Padding is not necessary as the more irregular the tint is applied the more striking will be the effect.

Copper, dark green, steel blue and purple must be well protected from dust and humidity, or they will become spotted in firing.

Opal and Mother of Pearl will not always fire successfully. They are not, however, wholly unreliable, but have a tendency to fire off.

Yellow pearl is one of the very beautiful iridescent colors, with a variety of light and deep tones.

Two fired applications of ruby purple will make a very deep tone. It is very effective when used with paste and gold work. A fine iridescent, deep green background for gold, is obtained by firing light green over ruby.

Steel blue, as a rule, is a very pleasing transparent color, but it will sometimes fire iridescent dark greenish gray. It combines well with silver and black for conventional designs. A wash of yellow over steel blue will give an oxidized silver effect.

Copper is used successfully over gold lustre. Very pleasing combinations of colors are produced by applying enamels over unfired lustres. They assume a pinkish cast in firing.

Copper decorations on lustres are more satisfactory if the lustre is fired. It can, however, be applied over unfired lustre if it is perfectly dry. Lustre applied over India ink will fire off. Very pleasant and delicate effects are obtained by outlining with gold and pen over lustres.

MATT COLORS

Matt colors are opaque and are usually used for backgrounds, in which case they are usually applied by the dusting process, although they may be used exactly as china colors are. After being fired the surface assumes a velvety effect and looks like unscoured gold. Sometimes they are used with ordinary colors. They can be mixed with them but when used in this way they are inclined to lose some of the natural dullness. These colors will stand an unusual amount of firing without fading.

Matt colors can be mixed with white and used the same as oil colors.

If a fine bronze effect is desired, it may be had by stippling gold over fired Matt colors.

It frequently happens that after these colors have been fired, they will rub off, especially, if they have been laid on too thick. In this case make a mixture of a small amount of vitrifiable china tint and the Matt color, making a light wash, and this will fasten the ground. This wash may be blown or stippled on. It may be applied with a shader if the colors are not too soft.

Paste and gold may be applied over fired Matt colors. Roman or unfluxed gold may be used over paste, but unfluxed gold must be used if applied directly on the color.

As these colors are opaque no design will show through when fired. Consequently if any design is to be applied to these colors, it must be cut out. (See cutting out.) Vitrified china colors are used over fired Matt tints—and silver can be used over Matt colors.

These colors cannot be used successfully on such articles as table ware, as they will not stand a great amount of washing. They retain grease, etc., and would soon lose their beauty.

Matt colors are made by adding a certain amount of oxide of zinc to china colors. A little experimenting will tell the decorator what proportions to use. Grind these well together with turpentine—and dry before using. Different makes require different proportions.

BANDING

A steady hand and practice are necessary to acquire good results in banding and lining. The best results are obtained with the “Star” Banding Wheel. Operation of the wheel is very simple. Three centering buttons move together automatically, bringing the article to the exact center and holding it in an unmovable position. These are adjustable and can be raised to hold in position bowls, vases, etc. A large amount of valuable time is saved by using the “Star” Banding Wheel. It is easily manipulated by the most inexperienced and is practically indestructible.

Do not move the brush around the china. By resting your arm on a support you can turn the banding wheel slowly and keep the brush in a steady position, and touch the china lightly.

A good brush is necessary to make a band, but a thin one is used to make a small line.

The colors must be kept in a half liquid state. In this state they flow easily and an even line is the result. The brush should pass over the same line several times.

Bands are made with grounding oil so they may be dusted with powder—the same as in the ground-laying process. This is preferable to using wet colors for a broad band. With this process the band is even and glazy. A cut liner is used for lines and edges. This brush is best for this work as it carries the large quantities necessary for a long line.

Perfect lines must be made with one stroke—as several short strokes are sure to appear blotchy. When lines are made of gold or silver, the metal used should be more liquid than when used in painting.

A compass, with a ruling pen, can be used for making lines. China color made liquid with diluting medium is used.

Lines may be drawn around the edges of bowls, plates, saucers, etc.

OXIDIZING OF COLORS

Different metals are used as a basis in producing various colors. Iron is the basis for flesh tints, reds and browns. Less iron (in proportion) is used for yellow and green.

Gold and tin are used as the basis for pinks, roses, carmines, blues, purples and violets. In mixing colors of iron basis with those of gold and tin basis the lustre and brilliancy is sometimes impaired. Experience will show that purple (which has gold or tin as basis) mixed with black or brown (iron basis) sometimes loses its glaze, on the other hand the same purple will, as a rule, keep its glaze if mixed with dark green, owing to the fact that greens have a smaller per cent of iron. The combining of the two basic metals causes the oxidization, and this difficulty is hard to remedy. A scroll of gold or silver is quite a help in this dilemma, they being opaque, defects are easily covered. Satisfactory tints can be procured by mixing colors of iron basis as one class and those of gold and tin basis as another.

A piece of china will sometimes come from the kiln with a perfect glaze, but soon loses its lustre and becomes Matt. This may be due to the fact that the color is too heavy and not fired long enough.

The china being porous absorbs the natural moisture in the air and appears to be oxidized. This can be removed with soap and water. Refiring will prevent a recurrence of this condition.

Special care should be taken with such colors as purples and browns, that too much oil is not used in mixing. It has a tendency to produce a dull, undesirable appearance. Keep the colors as dry as possible.

GLAZING OF UNDERFIRED COLORS

Even though every precaution known to the art has been observed, the artist will be puzzled in taking from the kiln pieces that have been fired in a way anything but satisfactory or as he expected. It is frequently the case that his best pieces are underfired. Knowing the danger of _over_ firing, he is liable to make this mistake. Should this happen, it is not well to refire china without going over the work with a thin coat of color. This should be fired at the same heat as would be used in the ordinary glaze. In case you do not need to go over the whole decoration, the fired colors could be covered lightly with a coat of enamel oil, or mixing oil and turpentine. Let this coat dry, padding it well, after which dust it with white flux or ivory glaze. The desired glaze will be produced by the powder adhering to the oil. Fire again with ordinary heat.

A glaze cannot be produced on underfired china by using a coat of lustre, but instead it will be found that this china will absorb the glazy substance of the lustre. This has a tendency to change the colors and produces a frosted effect.

Sometimes white lustre will retain its glaze over a lightly fired tint, but we suggest that the decoration be retouched after the colors are very dry, and powder it with ivory glaze. Pure glazes or fluxes mixed with oil should never be applied over the unglazed decoration—as it will invariably destroy the colors. A rough surface can be improved by rubbing it gently with very fine emery paper.

You will find that a good oil for glazing is made by the turpentine in the cup, that you use for washing brushes. The glazy qualities are produced by the fluxes of the colors. Great care should be taken to see that this oil is clean. After giving the underfired decoration a light wash, pat well. Fire in the usual way after it is thoroughly dry, and a very satisfactory glaze will be obtained.

CHIPPING OF COLORS

There are many reasons for colors chipping, but it is probably due more frequently to the careless application of color than to any other cause.

Sometimes, and in fact quite frequently, it is due to imperfections in the china. A frequent imperfection is that the glaze is very thin and in firing the colors cannot adhere to it.

Less trouble, however, is experienced with the light colors, such as yellows, grays, blues, reds and light greens. While in the darker colors, the browns, dark greens, purples, etc., it is found that they are more liable to chip off.

Then too very hard china gives more trouble than a softer ware, such as English or Belleek.

Artists frequently think that thick colors will produce heavier tints. This is not so. The mistake is a bad one. The colors will not only chip off very soon, but will lose their brilliancy. The only sure way to meet with satisfactory results is to apply the color very evenly, avoiding lumpy strokes.

If colors are well mixed and perfectly smooth and free from grit, there is very little danger of chipping.

The most objectionable feature in china painting, and we might say hopeless one, is chipping, as there is really no good way to remedy it. The nearest thing to a solution that we can offer is to fill in the chipped place and refire—but the glaze will never be quite the same. The great danger in refiring is that some other part of the decoration may be marred in the same way. Whenever the chipping occurs in a place that can be covered with enamel or paste and gold, it is best to remedy it in this way.

One way to remedy it, and to avoid the necessity of an extra firing, is to mix the powdered color with copal varnish and apply it thickly over the chipped places. This looks fairly well and will remain brilliant for some time.

Another difficulty that may be experienced is blistering. The cause of this is bad oil. In this case the color will not chip off, but it will shrink. This condition is hard to remedy but a small amount of oil of cloves added to the mixing medium will prevent it.

In decalcomania or transfer work, blistering happens very frequently. This happens because the transfers have not been washed sufficiently, and thoroughly dried before applying. This may be prevented if a wash of oil of cloves is used, over the dry transfer, dabbing it on with a slightly moistened pad. It is absolutely necessary that the transfers should be free from any trace of moisture.

ENAMEL WORK

One of the most essential features in this work is to have the enamel of the right consistency. There are many good enamels in the market but we have found that Aufsetzweiss in tube or powder form, makes a very satisfactory white enamel.