Now with new techniques.
I am a process addict. It seems that I can't stop myself from continuing to learn and add to my toolbox of techniques. Which all seem to just add more and more time and processes to my work. All of which take time, more and more time. And I am not going to apologize for it, nope not at all.
My most recent process or time hog is water etching. This is a process where you place a resist of some sort on greenware and then use a wet sponge to wipe away the surrounding clay letting image appear from the clay surface. When I first heard about this technique people used lacquer or wax as a resist. While it worked well for free hand drawings it left me wanting a little more control. So I forgot about the technique for a few years (10 or more) and recently came back to it with a new technological twist.
I have been using my Cricut maker for creating stencils for underglaze transfers and direct underglaze application to pots. The vinyl resists the underglaze quite well when applied to the pot. This got my brain ticking and I said why not try it with some water. Now I know I'm not the first person to do it so it's nothing ground breaking and I didn't reinvent the wheel. It was just how came to using the technique. I'm sure if I had taken a workshop or read an article on it I would have completed the process a lot faster.
Here is a video showing how I apply my vinyl stencil and the process of water etching. Like many things done in the studio it is not rocket science and it's not magical. So enjoy and give it a shot your self. If you have any questions be sure to ask and I'll be sure to answer.
