We made 3 fingerprint plates for our school auction.
The materials we used were
- Bisque fired dinner plates from Mayco.
- Underglaze in various colors
- Fine line writer bottle (filled with glaze)
- Clear Gloss Glaze
The first was a Dr. Seuss themed “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish” plate for the Kindergartners. The fish are made from their fingerprints.
The second was a bird plate for the 1st graders. All of the birds were made from the kids’ fingerprints. Their names are drawn on the back.
The third was a panda holding balloons (made from fingerprints) for the 2nd graders. This one was my favorite. I love the cute panda!
For each of these, bisque plates were used. The kids dipped their fingers in underglaze to make the fingerprints. Then, I drew the designs with black glaze, using a fine tipped writing bottle. Afterwards, clear glaze was applied on the front and back and then they were fired in the kiln. I wasn’t sure whether it would smear or not, so for the first two plates, I fired the plates twice… once after the underglaze was applied and then refired again after the clear glaze was painted on. For the third one, I ran out of time, so I gently and carefully applied the clear glaze on top of the unfired underglaze after it had air-dried. Luckily, it did not smear. Then, it was fired in the kiln.
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Did you let paint dry before you layered glaze? Also, I don’t have a kiln. Do we need to call around and ask a local pottery shop? Thanks.
Yes, we let the glaze dry between coats. If you want to make the plate able to be used, you have to use colored clay glazes and a kiln. Otherwise if you only have regular paint, you might just want to make a wall hanging or plaque!