How to Make Ceramic Crayons

These underglaze crayons can be used to draw on greenware or bisqueware. The work can then be glaze-fired normally.

Difficulty Level: easy      Time Required: 120 min

Here’s How:

1. Ingredients: White Firing Ball Clay (50%) Potash Feldspar (25%) Flint (Quartz) (25%) Bentonite (5%) Colorant (15%) (Iron Oxide, Copper Carbonate, Cobalt Oxide/Cobalt Carbonate or any undeglaze colorant).
2. Mix the ingredients with the desired colors and dry sieve the powder through an 80 mesh.
3. Weigh the ingredients and then measure out 45% of that weight in water.
4. For every 100 gm (4 ounces) of powder, mix in a teaspoon of sodium silicate to the water.
5. Add the water to the powder and mix thoroughly with a fork or similar tool.
6. Roll into a pencil shapes.
7. After drying, fire the pencils/crayons to 800^o – 900^o C.

Tips:

1. Be sure to wear a mask and gloves, if using toxic colorants.
2. Experiment with different color percentages.
3. Try out making pencils of different sizes, for different drawing requirements.

These underglaze crayons can be used to draw on greenware or bisqueware.Here’s another method.

Difficulty Level: easy      Time Required: 120 min

Here’s How:

1. Follow the instructions for the dry ingredients as listed in How to Make Ceramic Crayons I and add wax resist in increments until you get a hard paste.
2. Air dry for a couple of days, or force dry in an oven or microwave (on low!).
3. Use on greenware — the wax is burnt off in the bisque firing. If painting on bisqued ware, the wax resist component will reject glaze.

Tips:

1. Be sure to wear a mask and gloves, if using toxic colorants.
2. Experiment with different color percentages.
3. Try out making pencils of different sizes, for different drawing requirements.