Oh my goodness, you are so sweet! Thank you for the lovely encouragement. And I hope you truly start creating again!

I am, @@MissLinneaLark . You're teaching style is very digestible and thanks again.

Oh my goodness, your daughter and I would be BFFs 🤣. It seriously took every ounce of hope I could squeeze out of my soul to carry on with this work! And every brush stroke I made after that wing cracked off was dipped in despair! But that’s the awesome thing about being a teacher, you can’t give up when 17 kids ask about your Panderfly everyday! Somehow you just have to keep on going, for no other reason but setting the example of progress and solving mistakes. Thanks for watching and for encouraging our youth to persevere!

Thank you Harriett! I'm always happy to inspire a laugh!

Kelly, thanks for the kindness

Thank you 💕

You are SO welcome 🤩

Marie, thank you so much for the love in ALL CAPS! I definitely feel and appreciate it more! :D I am so happy to share my Bisque Fix experiences! It's a game changer for sure. Good luck to you and thank you truly for all the love!

I highly recommend the Bisque Fix! I got some good advice after this video was made to pour water on top to store it and then when you use it again, pour any remaining water off. It helps keep it air tight. Thanks for the support as always!

Skylar, thank you for taking the time to build me up. It truly means a lot to me, 💕 happy summer!!!

Oh, thank you Isabel! So glad you enjoyed it!

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 💕

Thank you! And good luck on your sculpture adventures!

Thank you, Armand! That truly means so much to me!

Thank you for writing such kind words! 🥰

Thank you Lilly 🤩

Lily, are you my Lily? I miss you!!

@@MissLinneaLark I miss you too!! I moved to chs, art and ceramics aren’t the same without you ! ☹️

Thank you Zinnia

@@MissLinneaLark Well we are your classic paint a pot studio so we use Fun Strokes by Gare. Then we use their Dazzle dip on top! But some things for myself that aren’t for use with food or drink I’ll only use 3 coats of the underglaze because the colour payoff is the same :)

They are only fired at 06 so that may have something to do with it!

I may be wrong because I don't have much experience, but from what I read about it, it shows when glazing. I think in my case, because I underglazed it and it was opaquely covered it was invisible.

This is very fascinating info you have shared! I have never use hair for anything other than firing a design... I am going to google thins! How interesting!

Bless you and thank you!

Are you my sweet German student?!

@@MissLinneaLark Hahaha Yes! I am😊

@@konfettikopf I miss you and think of you often! Hope all is well over there! 💕

@@MissLinneaLark I am missing you too (Art class over here is way too boring without you) Me and my closeones are doing well. I hope you too😊 Happy Thanksgiving btw!

Cone 04, low fire 🤩

I would love answers to these two questions as well!

1. Underglaze can go on greenware or on bisqueware. But whichever you choose you must fire the underglaze before applying glaze. This is because underglaze is made of clay. When clay and underglazes go through the firing they release gasses and other crud in the firing. If glaze (liquid glass) is on top of the clay when it is releasing those gasses, in the initial firing, they get trapped under the glaze and result in bubbles and glass shards. The reason I choose to usually fire my work before underglazing it is because, especially with sculpture, you have to frequently handle the piece to reach all the hard to reach areas. The piece is INCREDIBLY fragile before a bisque firing. I did not want to break off the tail or wings handling my piece before it was ceramic. The other reason is because I have noticed that "shivering" is more likely to happen when you apply underglaze to greenware. This shouldn't happen if you have good clay... but sometimes it does. Shivering is when the underglaze detaches from your piece and chips off. 2. Clear glazes: I use low fire clay and glazes as I fire at 05-04. My preferred brand is Amaco. Here is the clear gloss I use: www.dickblick.com/items/amaco-lead-free-clear-transparent-glaze-liquid-gallon-transparent/ And the clear matt I use: www.dickblick.com/items/amaco-lead-free-matt-glaze-gallon-transparent-matte-transparent/ In my experience, clear gloss glazes are pretty easy. Maybe a little on the thin side... I always use 4 coats to their recommended 3 coats. But always super consistent. This clear matt and other matt glazes seem to be more temperamental. It is the most needy of all my glazes. I use distilled water and an emersion blender to keep it the consistency of pancake batter. This is crucial. And I sieve it EVERYTIME, before I use it. Make sure you only use 3 coats. If it goes on thick it fires cloudy white instead of clear. Talk about disappointing. If I am glazing 3D areas where the glaze puddles or pools I apply the glaze and then immediately use a clean brush to mop up the excess glaze that wants to stick in the corners. This glaze is a primadonna, but I think it's worth it. I had never had weird shivering or other firing issues with our clays and glazes until the pandemic. I read that there were shortages on minerals and such and so some of the clays and maybe the other supplies were changing their recipes... I don't know what the culprit is, but there has been cracking and shivering in recent years that I have never encountered before. I am hoping this works it's self out... but in the meantime I need to do some more research. GOOD LUCK!

​@@MissLinneaLark Thank you so much for the extensive and thorough explanation, I really appreciate! There's so much to learn about clay, and glazes and firing... thanks again for sharing the knowledge 💙

Both are cone 04 ☺️ thank you for your kind comments.

Thanks Rhea 😊 here’s the glaze I use. It is low fire. Good luck! www.dickblick.com/items/amaco-lead-free-matt-glaze-pint-transparent-matte-transparent/

@@MissLinneaLark thank you so much!

@@MissLinneaLark can I ask one more question? Why do you choose an underglaze as opposed to a colored slip/engobe when painting your pieces? I’m trying to assess the pros and cons of each. I am looking to get that saturated matte look to my vases and larger wares.

@@rheahalona I love amaco underglazes especially because they can be used on greenware or bisqueware. I like that I can rejuvenate it when it dries out when I forget to lid it 🤣. I like that it is relatively thin. I love how it mixes and I can create my own colors. I like that I can manipulate it to be opaque or transparent. Things I don’t love: having to do 3 layers to get opaque finishes. Can be very tedious when doing little designs. I don’t love how much the colors change from wet, to dry, to fired, to after applying clear glaze. It takes time to get to know but even when you know the process is fraught with doubt. Hope that helps 😊

@@MissLinneaLark this makes so much sense. You’ve helped me immensely. Thank you!

Hi Susy, thanks for the kind words 💕. I think the draw in the mono print is that it gives it a rustic or weathered look. Everyone prolly has different reasons that they like it, it is also considerably easier to paint on a flat surface. But the thing I like about it is how rough and imperfect it is. It has a draw of its own. Hope that helps.

@@MissLinneaLark Good day Linnea , thank you so much for your explanation , very clear. I really admire your work and your generosity to share your skills and talent with us!

What a great idea!! I'm gonna try it!

It’s underglaze 🤩

hahaha I know! Watching it was scary for me too.

It took almost 2 years but she survived!! :D

You can cut each part apart, take out the paper and then put it all back like a puzzle. It can be tedious. When putting parts back together, you might need to slip and score on some thickness to the insides of the walls so that they can stick back together and let that set up a bit. They score both side really deep. Put slip on one side and score that again. Squish and rock the 2 parts back together. Clean up the joining. You will still see a seam. Then score the seam widely. It should already be pretty wet but u can also add more slip. Roll out a coil about the width of a pencil, give or take. Score the coil and then squish it into the seam. Now your seam is less like a valley and more like a hill. Use your serrated rib to scratch and sand down the hill until it’s flush with the walls. Use a metal rib or rubber rib to smooth out all the serrated score marks until it is smooth. It’s best to do all this when the clay is soft leather hard. Hard enough to keep its shape. But wet enough that you will be able to smooth out the serrated parts. I hope that helps! Good luck!

@@MissLinneaLark Thanks so much!!! 😊 It sounds like I probably haven't been adding enough clay to the seam. And I like the idea of scoring and slipping twice before joining.

@@MissLinneaLark I guess you can't leave the paper inside when you bisque fire the piece?

@@cassandramelena4665 you can & I did 😂. It’s not recommended cause you’ll get smoke, fire alarms and ash. Not to mention it increases the wear and tear on your kiln elements.

@@MissLinneaLark Have you tried it with foil?

I didn't glaze the bottoms. Any color on the bottom is underglaze and is made of colored clay and is fine to paint on the bottoms of your work. Just be sure not to confuse it with glaze. When I put the clear glaze on top I made sure to sponge off the bottoms so it wouldn't stick to the kiln shelf.

@@MissLinneaLark Thanks! I haven't used underglazes, though I'm starting to experiment.

Me too,

I use low fire clay with low fire UGs. Also, make sure you give your work a bath a day before you start UGing. Store it in a clean area, even if you have to wrap a clean trash bag around it to keep dust from the studio off of it. Hope that helps.

@@MissLinneaLark I started with low fire clay, then tried Laguna Bmix mid fire, still having shivering all the time, and I'm using the same UGs you are. Amaco velvet underglazes! I really think it has to be my technique! I'm going to try and wash my pieces more thoroughly and see if that helps reduce it! Thank you! :)

@@kimberlyc.2318 good luck Kimberly! The washing is it! I can feel it! 😊 you shall have much success in future!

Haha soo true!

LOL

Send me a photo of what kind of monkey and will make it for you!!