Alright, I have been pretty lazy lately about my blog and today I was determined to create an entry. What I didn't expect was that when the inspiration hit I could not get into blogger. After hours of waiting, here I am, finally and my inspiration is lacking. It could also have a lot to do with the fact that I was out until 2 AM on Saturday morning. Yep, I still have not recovered from that late night of good conversation and laughter with new friends. I'm just not used to staying up so late.
Anywho, I really wanted to talk about clay stamp making. Lately I have been browsing my supply catalogs and seeing a lot of bisque stamps available. Stamps are on the expensive side but there can be a lot of work involved in making the masters depending on how intricate they are. I'm the kind of person who enjoys crafting my own clay tools when I can and stamps are something I have been making for years.
Here's a pretty simple method of crafting your own personalized ceramic bisque stamps for use on pottery and hand built ceramics. This technique will allow you to make the first negative impression of your designs. Roll out an even slab of smooth earthenware clay, the larger the slab the more designs you can create. Allow it to air dry for a few hours almost to the point of leather hard stage. Taking a sharp pencil and draw or carve a design into the leather hard slab. You can pre draw your designs on paper or print them up from your computer. Simply place the paper on top of the slab and lightly retrace the design with a pencil. By removing the paper you can then go in and make the lines deeper, tracing allows you to get the line proportions correct.
The pencil or any carving tool will leave behind some rough edging. After the slab is dry, gently scrape away the raised rough edges with a trimming tool. To remove the clay dust left behind in the carved designs, gently pat the slab with a moist piece of clay. After this is done you can further clean the edging with a damp soft bristled paint brush. At this point I recommend you fire your clay slab in the kiln before making positive stamp impressions or you may run the risk of breaking your slab and ruining all of your new designs. Been there, done that.
To make the positive after the bisque is completed roll out a fresh coil of clay which has a higher moisture content than you would normally use for throwing or hand building, this will limit the cracking around the edges when you make the impression. Your coil should be approximately 1" thick and 2" long. Flatten it into the stamp impression allowing yourself a few finger holds. Another method is to make a flat slab and press it or roll it with a rolling pin into the impression. After it stiffens up you can remove the excess edging and add a finger hold to the back by slipping and scoring. Once you create a good impression set it aside to dry and bisque fire your new stamp before using.
Crafting your own ceramic stamps can be a intricate as you desire just remember that they do not need to be perfect to make a nice impression on your work of art which will be covered with glaze.
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