Hi Folks,
My wife and I just had a friend create a large set of dishes and other pottery for us. When we got the finished product, we saw that our friend had forgotten to add any blue color to the design - even though we specifically asked for it. We don't want to hurt his feelings if this is not reperable, so I wanted to ask the question to you all first: Is it possible, after a product has been finished/glazed, to refinish it with an additional color?
Thanks very much, Jack
Well, glazing isn't like painting. You can't just add a color on top of what's there and get exactly what you expect to get. You can reglaze and refire pottery, but the glazes will mingle and react with each other in very unexpected ways. Sometimes the results will be beautiful. Sometimes the results will be disasterous. It's pretty experimental.
Do you like the pottery the way it is, even without the blue? Is it attractive on its own? Did you commission this work and have some kind of contract or was this a friendly gesture on the part of the potter? I'd ask myself some of these questions before asking that the potter refire the work. Maybe if you had a contract and the potter didn't do what he was commissioned to do, you could have him do the job over again or just decline altogether. He could always try to sell the other set to someone else who didn't have the color preferences that you have.
Deb R.
specifically
Hi Deb,
The pottery was commissioned for our wedding. We wanted to give a friend the work, so we had people register with him for the various items in the set. The color choices we wanted were discussed in depth. We didn't mind variation nor did we have any particular shades in mind. We just wanted some blue - and he said he was planning an earthtone and cobalt blue. We told him we trusted the judgement, but never imagined that he would eliminate the main color he knew we wanted.
What we got is OK. It's not what we wanted, but it's OK - sort of a beige and brown. It was just going to be a special thing for our wedding, and we wanted it to be a certain way. Our friend had some personal difficulties, and went through a lot of trouble to get this job done. We really don't want to hurt his feelings and will probably not mention it to him since there is little to be done about it.
Thanks, Jack
That was a really nice idea registering with a potter for your wedding dishes. I like that. It *is* too bad that you didn't get what you expected. I think I agree with you that since it's a good friend who, along with some personal problems, went through a lot of trouble to get the job done that I'd not mention it to him. A good friendship is worth a lot in itself.
Actually, if I could ask him neutrally enough *why* he went with the decision to omit the blue, I might just ask. He might have a good reason--it didn't work as well artistically as he thought, or the glaze he planned was unstable. Maybe he was trying to save you grief of living with a bad glazing decision. He probably should have said something to you, but there could be a reasonable explanation.
If it seems OK to you now, perhaps it's something that will grow on you with time. Things I loved years ago aren't always the things I still love now. My tastes evolve and change.
Oh, and congratulations on your wedding :-)
Deb R.
This has no bearing on why your friend the potter "chose" not to include blue in the pieces, if indeed it was a conscious choice..
Sometimes a glaze color will not work when combined with other glazes. I've seen red glazes go green when combined (over/under) browns for example. He may have used it, but it didn't work. You might find a delicate way to broach the subject. it could be simply a technical fault...a glaze acting in an unpredictable fashion.
Could you perhaps pick up the blue in a different way? Napkin rings, tablecloth, napkins, candleholders? Not what you wanted, of course, but still a way to have blue at table. Just a thought.
Wayne Seidl
The way things turn out in pottery sometimes is impossible to foretell. I have made cobalt blues, floating blues, sky blues, etc. and there are times when they came out completely brown or even green. The potter could add another coat of glaze and refire them, but that does not guarantee they will bring out more blue. If he, for instance, used a large amount of rutile in his glaze the results might be, hummmmmm, not what one would expect. He would chance a complete failure, and so would you. So the question is, do you all want to chance that. You might ask him if he is able to refire and enhance the set with a tinge of more blue. If he is uncertain about the outcome, you might pass it on as experience.
One does not control the fire.
you can add color if you go to a lower heat range glaze (if the original was fired to cone 10 any cone 06 glaze could be used,a cone 06 glazed could be overglazed with 017 china paint}
You could refire using cobalt oxide painted or sprayed on I would think. It is a very strong color and I would be surprised that it would not give you the blue you want with just a light application so you don't have to worry really about it adhering heavily to the now non-porous surface. Do you know what the pieces were fired to and if it is a reduction or oxidation firing (electric, gas, wood)? You would have to fire though to the point of where the glaze remelted. I wonder if you could use a stencil and spray on a design. The problem is going to be in how to ask your friend if this could be done without offending or hurting them. You could say you really want blue in the set and would be happy to pay for the cost of firing if it can be done without risk of damaging the already beautiful work...... DKat
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.