WAX RESIST
Wax resist, sold by ceramic supply houses, can be used beneath liquid enamel to create beading and strong textural patterns in the fired coat. Applied freely to the copper, it will resist liquid enamel the most where the wax is thickest, and during a kiln firing it will burn out to expose the metal below.
Mix the wax resist liquid thoroughly, shaking and stirring it. Then use an inexpensive brush to apply it in a broad design and let is set for a few moments. Representational compositions are hard to control with a resist. It works most easily in wide brushstrokes and dripping.
The resist dries slowly on copper because the liquid is not absorbed by the metal as it is by porous clay. You can let the wax design air-dry, which may take a day or more, especially in a damp or wintry climate, and then chill it in a freezer, a refrigerator, or a bucket of ice cubes or ice water to completely set the wax. Or you can heat the waxed copper by placing it on a stove, or on a rack above a torch flame, until the wax begins to bubble and spatter. Remove the copper form from the heat with tongs, or a gloved hand and let it cool for a moment before placing it in a refrigerator or freezer to chill. When the copper is cold, removed it and immediately brush or spray a watery solution of liquid enamel over the entire surface of the work. (If ice has been used instead of a refrigerator, be sure to gently blot off water before applying enamel.)Spraying the enamel in several short bursts will create pearl-like rounds of enamel. The pattern may be changed by agitating the copper or holding it vertically while the enamel is still wet.
When the enamel is dry, fire the work at 1450 F (788 C) or above. A moment after the work is placed in the kiln it will burst into flame and smoke. Keep the spy hole open or the door slight ajar to allow smoke to escape. When the flames have gone down, close the spy hole or door and fire the work for two minutes . By that time the enamel should be mature. Brief firings preserve the texture and play of colors wax resist gives. After firing, the work may be cleaned and metal colorants my be applied to the parts which the burned out wax has exposed. The entire work also may be waxed and lacquered if firescale is to be preserved.
Wax resists may be adapted to other enameling techniques, too. Sgraffito designs may be made in a thick, even coat of wax (not bubbled over heat), though fine clear lines are not easily made in it. On a bubbled and chilled coat, sgraffito can be used to pursue a design suggested by the wax texturing after the liquid enamel has been applied.
Wax resist designs may be made by applying the wax solution to crushed or hammered construction paper and then pressing the paper, while wet, against the clean copper. Lift the paper off and then chill the metal to preserve the pattern before coating it with liquid enamel. The effect will be rather blurred and abstract. Leaves, sponges, coarse fabrics, string, and other textural materials can also be coated with the wax resist and imprinted on the copper.
[b]WAX RESIST[/b]
Wax resist, sold by ceramic supply houses, can be used beneath liquid enamel to create beading and strong textural patterns in the fired coat. Applied freely to the copper, it will resist liquid enamel the most where the wax is thickest, and during a kiln firing it will burn out to expose the metal below.
Mix the wax resist liquid thoroughly, shaking and stirring it. Then use an inexpensive brush to apply it in a broad design and let is set for a few moments. Representational compositions are hard to control with a resist. It works most easily in wide brushstrokes and dripping.
The resist dries slowly on copper because the liquid is not absorbed by the metal as it is by porous clay. You can let the wax design air-dry, which may take a day or more, especially in a damp or wintry climate, and then chill it in a freezer, a refrigerator, or a bucket of ice cubes or ice water to completely set the wax. Or you can heat the waxed copper by placing it on a stove, or on a rack above a torch flame, until the wax begins to bubble and spatter. Remove the copper form from the heat with tongs, or a gloved hand and let it cool for a moment before placing it in a refrigerator or freezer to chill. When the copper is cold, removed it and immediately brush or spray a watery solution of liquid enamel over the entire surface of the work. (If ice has been used instead of a refrigerator, be sure to gently blot off water before applying enamel.)Spraying the enamel in several short bursts will create pearl-like rounds of enamel. The pattern may be changed by agitating the copper or holding it vertically while the enamel is still wet.
When the enamel is dry, fire the work at 1450 F (788 C) or above. A moment after the work is placed in the kiln it will burst into flame and smoke. Keep the spy hole open or the door slight ajar to allow smoke to escape. When the flames have gone down, close the spy hole or door and fire the work for two minutes . By that time the enamel should be mature. Brief firings preserve the texture and play of colors wax resist gives. After firing, the work may be cleaned and metal colorants my be applied to the parts which the burned out wax has exposed. The entire work also may be waxed and lacquered if firescale is to be preserved.
Wax resists may be adapted to other enameling techniques, too. Sgraffito designs may be made in a thick, even coat of wax (not bubbled over heat), though fine clear lines are not easily made in it. On a bubbled and chilled coat, sgraffito can be used to pursue a design suggested by the wax texturing after the liquid enamel has been applied.
Wax resist designs may be made by applying the wax solution to crushed or hammered construction paper and then pressing the paper, while wet, against the clean copper. Lift the paper off and then chill the metal to preserve the pattern before coating it with liquid enamel. The effect will be rather blurred and abstract. Leaves, sponges, coarse fabrics, string, and other textural materials can also be coated with the wax resist and imprinted on the copper.
