So, I'm experimenting with enamels. I though I would start by seeing what colours we had available. I mixed all the low-fire colours with painting medium, gradually adding more medium to the mix to get a range of colour densities.
I painted the enamels on on October 16th, and they didn't dry before I fired them on the 18th, apparently that's not a problem for firing, but it meant that since I hadn't placed them on a perfectly level surface, they ran, and got all mushed up.
The pictures show clear glass tiles with the following colour arrangement:
White, Empire Green
Dark Blue, Leaf Green
Bright Red
Blood Red
Dark Brown, Resolute Blue
Canary Yellow, Green
Best Black, Bright Orange
The black glass tile is painted in the following arrangement:
Empire Green, Dark Blue, Green
Leaf Green, Bright Red, Bright Orange
Blood Red, Dark Brown
Resolute Blue
This test was fired in the mercedes on October 18th, and came out on October 19th.
This was the schedule I used:
1. 0:01 to 575 C
2. 0:20 @ 575 C
3. 0:21 to 515 C
4. 1:50 @ 515 C
5. 5:50 to 427 C
6. 12:00 to 20 C
All the colours fired on at this temperature, except for Best Black, which it turns out I mis-read the label, and it's a high-fire enamel, so needed temperatures of 650-750C. I'm bad at working in Fahrenheit.
Also, the colour was exceptionally lumpy and uneven. This is because I have never mixed my own paint before this, and I didn't know I needed to use a palette knife and a muller to get the lumps out. So, Next time I'll mix the enamels right.
Next step: Silk screening! Decals and direct to glass.
Pictures associated with this firing can be found here:
Labels: Expirimentation
