AMACO Lesson Plan #41-Image Transfer

Image Transfer: How to Make a Clay Monoprint

by Paul Andrew Wandless

The advantage of drawing and painting with ceramics on a plaster slab is having the luxury of time when working on an image. The underglazes and slips get absorbed and are held in the plaster until you’re ready to pour the casting slip over it.

A plaster slab can be used as a canvas to make an image using AMACO® Velvet Underglazes, AMACO® Liquid Underglazes, AMACO® Gloss Decorating Colors and the AMACO® Semi-Moist Underglaze (watercolor) trays.

The image created on the plaster slab is transferred to clay using the monoprint process, which is a printmaking technique. This method of creating an image requires working from foreground to background when making your images; because the information is reversed during the transfer (printing) process. This means when you’re overlapping colors, the first ones applied are the foreground, then layers over the top of these initial colors develop into the background. The colors can also be applied side-by-side, without overlapping, so the image you see is what you get when reversed.

Lesson Plan Goals and Objectives

1. Draw a design onto plaster with ceramic underglazes suitable for transfer onto a ceramic slab for firing.
2. Drawing and painting techniques will be reversed as foreground painting precedes background.
3. Students will learn how to draw a layered design suitable for transfer, which will incorporate a reversal of drawing and painting techniques, such as required in monoprintmaking.

National Visual Arts Standards

1. Understanding and applying media, techniques and processes.
2. Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.
3. Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas.

Tools and Materials

• AMACO® Underglazes
• AMACO® White Underglaze
• AMACO® Semi-Moist Underglazes
• AMACO Gloss Decorating Colors
• AMACO® Clay
• AMACO© Underglaze Applicator
• AMACO© Casting Slip
• Paint brushes
• Plaster
• Tape
• Pencil
• Water
• Sponge

Step 1: Mask out the print area on the plaster with tape. Tape borders

Step 2: Sketch the outlines of your design, keeping in mind that the image and any text will be reversed in the transfer process. The first few prints won’t look exactly the way you expect until this way of drawing becomes more comfortable for you.

Step 3: Use AMACO® Underglazes in squeeze applicator to create permanent outlines. You can use water to erase or soften your outlines.

Step 4: Unwanted pencil lines can be erased with a damp sponge. They will also burn out during firing if not erased.

Step 5: Use AMACO® Semi-Moist Underglazes to shade as you would with watercolors. Because you’re working in reverse process here, these shadings will be the blush of skin tones on the image’s surface when transferred.

Step 6: Use AMACO® Gloss Decorating Colors (GDC’s) in areas where you want a gloss finish that pops from the background colors.

Step 7: Apply the background colors for the figure.

Step 8: Cover details.

Step 9: Background colors are complete.

Step 10: Apply face background.

Step 11: Finish face background.

Step 12: Create the backdrop behind the figure and around head.

Step 13: Add background around the head with AMACO® Semi-Moist Underglazes. Streak the background into the Godhead halo.

Step 14: Moisten and let the color run to create the flowing backdrop.

Step 15: Adding and darkening the flow of underglazes; adding more complexity to the flowing background.

Step 16: Add another layer behind or over that flowing color by first removing the tape masks and then cleaning the borders where there was some run-off. Remove over painted tape borders.

Step 17: Clean borders.

Step 18: Apply new tape.

Step 19: Apply White Underglaze to the background behind figure and flowing halo. The layering behind the portrait figure helps to create an illusion of dimensionality.

Step 20: Now the image is complete and you can remove the tape borders.

Step 21: Once the image is complete and is dry to the touch, create a clay dam that works as a mold box for the casting slip to be poured and firmed up to create the clay print. To make this clay dam, roll out a clay slab approximately 3/8 of an inch thick and cut into 1″ strips.

Step 22: Apply slip to the adhering edge by  brush casting slip (same as you’re going to use to pour the image) onto the edge of the clay strip.

Step 23: Building your dam. Make the wall around the slab by attaching it to the surface of the plaster slab around the image.

Step 24: Finished dam.

Step 25: Pour casting slip over the image to desired thickness. Start at one end and work your way over to the other side. If the casting slip is thin, it will level out on its own. If the casting slip is a little thick, you’ll need to level it out with a spreader.

Step 26: Allow the casting slip to harden for about 15 minutes. When firm to the touch, cut off the clay walls, check to see if it is strong enough to remove.

Step 27: Place a piece of plastic cling wrap on back of clay print and then a piece of cardboard. Carefully flip it over and remove the plaster bat. The clay print can continue to dry on the piece of cardboard. Drywall or a wooden board work just fine as well.

Step 28: Finished Project.