Low Fire Friday - Amaco Velvet Underglazes

During the Arrowmont Residency Reunion this past May, we (the 50 former Resident Artists that attended) were encouraged to collaborate on various projects that would be donated to Arrowmont for display, auction, or the permanent collection.

In the ceramic studio we tackled making 100+ mugs that would be left in the dining hall for student use during the course of Arrowmont's one-week workshops. Most of the mugs that resulted from this exciting project were touched by multiple hands. Someone would throw/trim the mug, someone else would add a handle, then it would get passed along for decoration/surface design. After it was bisque fired, someone else would apply the final glaze and then it was off to get fired again.

During the course of this process, I found myself as a "decorator" and discovered a new obsession - Amaco Velvet Underglazes!


Here is the finished Arrowmont Official Birthday Mug. I wish I could report who made the mug and who added the handle, but Brian Hiveley did the carving and illustration and I worked on the underglazes.

The underglazes were applied to greenware. After bisque firing, a black mason stain wash was applied and then a clear glaze was applied over the entire surface.

Look at the amazing color range available from Amaco!

The color palette in my work has been getting brighter and brighter over the years. (Possibly coinciding with living in Florida?) And I'm now finding that these underglazes are just what I was looking for to add that extra pop of color and still allow me to get a smooth gradation I've been wanting.

Invigorate, earthenware and kiln cast glass, 16" x 13" x 7"

The piece above had 2 coats of Amaco's Hunter Green, Blue Green, Teal Blue, Royal Blue, and Purple mixed and blended on greenware and then fired to cone 04.

I doubt I've given up my crunchy, crawly glazes, but this new direction excites me! And for those reading who may not be into mixing their own glazes, I thought it would be helpful to know some great commercial glaze options.

Cheers!