Pottery painting is a great way to give your pieces a nice, decorative flair that may not be there otherwise. But, what are some good ways to improve your pottery painting, and why does it matter?
Read on to find out three surefire tips to help improve your pottery painting, and why investing in these tips is important to decorate these items.
Consider using Specialty Items
Specialty decorative means can help markedly improve your pottery, and painting your pottery with specialty decorative tools and glazes can change the way your pottery painting happens.
Some specialty items that you should consider are the following:
- Glazes
- Slips
- Brushes
- Paints
These all will help with improving your pottery decoration, since it can help you build a prettier structure, and it really makes a difference in the way your pottery can look.
We’ll go into each section how specialty items of each are important to your pottery painting.
Using Speciality Glazes
Specialty glazes can change the way your pottery looks. Usually, we use typical glazes called undercoat glazes, which can cause the following:
- Bright colors
- Shiny colors and hues
- Vibrant textures
But, specialty glazes are some of the best for your pottery experience, and that is because they are an undercoat that will change within the kiln. By using a specialty glaze, you can change the texture of the way your pottery sits, and that’s something a lot of potters love about this.
Typically, you can get specialty glazes in two certain types, and they are the following:
- Shiny
- Matte
However, if you paint this on initially and have it on there before you fire, you can actually get some amazing pieces and colors out of it. Even more so, they start out with crazy colors that later change in the way you use them.
So yes, specialty glazes are a type of investment that can transform your pottery completely, and they’re something so many potters love.
Paints
While you may like to use glazes, sometimes paints are great for the beginner potter, and that’s because they allow for the following:
- More room for mistakes
- Are cheaper
- Can have more decorating means
But, specialty stains and paints are often great because of how high of quality they are. When you use this, you’ll find yourself slowly realizing that hey, you can definitely paint some cool features onto this.
Consider investing in paints that are a bit more expensive, and ones that are made for pottery decorating since they bring forth the following:
- New colors you may not have tried before
- New patterns that can change the way your pieces look
- More fun to be had
- A lot of cool options in terms of textures
Some people like to paint with slips, which is great and all, but they can be a bit expensive for the beginner. But, if you’re looking to take your pottery to the next level and want to really make it work, then you should definitely consider this option.
Using The Right Brushes
Now, this is an investment a lot of people never think about. that’s because, when they think about using the right brushes, they think about your average art supplies.
But, getting the right brushes to create the items allows for a lot of benefits, and they include the following:
- More variety
- More options to choose from with this
- More fun to be had with your painting
Lots of people think that it’s just getting a certain set of brushes, and that’s it. But it ‘s actually more than that. You can get brushes made specifically for pottery, and from there, you can try the following:
- Experiment with painting it on
- Try out brushes that use different textures for the piece
Get brushes made specifically for those brushstrokes, and see what happens there for a lot of potters, they never think about the brushes that they use to decorate your pottery. But, one of the best ways to get better at pottery is to get yourself a brush set that you can use to put the stains, glazes, or paint that you want on there.
Investing in high-quality brushes is really good, especially if you’re a person who wants to paint pottery more, but doesn’t really know how to make it better.
By having the right set of brushes, you can do the following with it:
- Create more designs
- Work with different colors
- Create patterns you may not have been able to before
These are so much fun, and you’ll be amazed t how much can change with the right pottery tools. Do consider investing in them today, and work on building different techniques with them too.
Change your Technique
The next pottery tip you’ll learn is to try changing up your techniques and learn something new. Learning pottery techniques that are different will benefit you immensely.
A lot of people don’t realize that their technique is incredibly important for their success. By having some techniques that are different, you can create so much more, and we’ll talk about those below as well.
The benefits of these techniques are the following:
- There is a lot of room for error
- You can take these techniques and make them your own
- While you can make mistakes, they are incredibly simple and fun
Below we’ll give you a couple of techniques that are a bit different but can change your pottery.
The Bubbling Effect
This is actually super easy to do, and it’s actually super fun. Not every technique has to be super in-depth and complicated, and this one only involves a couple of items and a few steps.
What you need is the following:
- Paint
- Water
- Dish detergent
- A cup for mixing
- A straw
To do this, you need to begin with the following:
- First mix all ingredients together but the straw
- Use the straw to blow into the cut, creating some bubbles
- Once they reach the top, tilt it over the piece, and let the bubbles fall
- Let them settle and pop, leaving colors behind
- Continue to do this with multiple colors, and then let it dry to create a nice finish
Of course, you should always be careful when inhaling this, since you don’t want to get it in your mouth. Detergent is poisonous, but if you’re careful, you should be fine.
Mandela
Another type of pottery painting is mandala, and a lot of people love to create this effect. Some people think they can’t do it, but it’s super easy.
To do it, you simply need the following:
- Paint of different colors
- A dotted brush that helps you make dots
- Patience
To do this, you essentially want to create polka dots, but it can be hard because of the mandala effect on this type of pottery can take a long time.
But, there is one secret to helping you figure out the symmetry.
To do this, you simply can begin with the following:
- Getting a small pencil
- Sketching the design that you want to work off of
- Following the outline and instructions indicated by the pencil
If you’re worried about the pencil potentially showing in the artwork, then you don’t have to fret, it actually burns off completely in the kiln, which is what’s pretty awesome.
The Fluid Effect
This is another super awesome technique that doesn’t take much time to master.
To begin, you must do the following:
- Get three paint colors of your choice
- Mix each into a container, 1:1 ratio
- From there, pour one over a cup or bowl
- Don’t mix, just pour it in whatever motion you want
- Tip the piece around into different directions, and watch it move together
- Once you have the full surface covered, let the excess drip off into a tray or sink
- If it slides to the bottom, wipe it off with a sponge
- Let it dry, and try out this very fun, and really intricate means to actually create art
You don’t have to always paint it on, and trying different techniques gives a new life to the pottery that you have, and a breath of fresh air that you’ll enjoy.
Get those Stencils!
Finally, if you feel like your technique could be a bit better, get some stencils. It may seem strange, but stencils are one of the best tools for perfecting your art.
The benefits of stencils include the following:
- They are helpful for you to put your designs on
- It makes a much easier template for you to work with
- If you have fingers that twitch a lot, it helps prevent that
Stencils are some of the best ways to improve your pottery painting, and while you may think they’re just for children, they’re actually incredibly helpful for potters and pottery painting.
A Stencil Variant: Silk Screen
Silkscreens are a perfect example of a stencil that works for pottery. They are similar to screen printing on shirts, and they are incredibly helpful.
To do this, you must begin with the following:
- Get some paint and a powder solvent such as flour to help create a roux
- Dunk your finger in, and spread it over the surface of the silkscreen image you have till covered
- Peel it off, and you’ll have a replica of the image
- You can use many different silk-screen options, and there are some cool ideas with this
Now, the benefit of using the silkscreen method is the following:
- They allow you to do intricate designs
- They look cool
- They often are quite involved with not too many steps
You often see a lot of potters creating intricate designs with this for a reason. That’s because it is super easy to do, and it often yields some great results!
The Lace Stencil
Do you feel like wanting to stencil out beautiful lacework on a piece of pottery, but don’t know how to begin? Well, read below to find out how to do it, and why it’s one of the best basic stencils!
- Take some lace
- Lay it over the areas that you want to put the painting on, and do it while it’s wet
- From there, paint over it, and you’ll have a lace stencil design on your piece
This is one of the easier ways to create lace, but you can also buy a lace stencil, work the lace design in there with paint, and then slowly remove it, which is another simple means to create this design.
The beauty of lace is the following:
- You can create an intricate design with little materials and work
- They tend to fit well as background images for pottery
- They are a lot of fun
For many people, lace is a wonderful addition to their pottery endeavors, and you can add lace to your painting techniques without too much hassle, and it can help bring a new look to your pottery.
Pottery Painting is Fun
Pottery painting is a wonderful way to craft some great pieces that can ultimately help you build a wonderful look to your items. If you feel like you’re missing out on some cool designs, try this.
Even with just changing the materials that you use, incorporating a small stencil, or even just having a new design worked in, you’ll be able to change the way your pottery looks. This can bring it to a new level, and make it look even more amazing than before.
Hopefully, this was simple enough to understand so that you can begin with learning how to build all of this effectively. You will see your skills change a bit when trying these.
