I recently learned a new technique for painting pottery that makes an interesting finish to all shapes and sizes of ceramic objects, it’s painting with bubbles.
This technique can be applied when the clay is leather hard or after the first bisque firing. The benefit of applying it at the leather hard stage is that you can then scratch out a Sgraffito design on the surface, which adds something even more interesting. Another benefit to the bubble painting technique is that you don’t have to handle the object very much, it is more a matter of mastering the flow of bubbles coming out of the bottom of the straw.
The first step is to make a mixture that is 1/3 underglaze, 1/3 water and 1/3 washing up (dishing washing) liquid. Place the mixture into a shallow cup and start blowing air through a straw into the mixture to form bubbles. Run the bubbles across the surface of the ceramic object as they form and flow over the side of the shallow cup.
Once the bubbles are applied, don’t touch it and just let them naturally pop. This will create a gradient of colour in the shape of a popped bubble.
Let the underglaze dry slightly before applying another colour using the same technique.
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