[DianneK]

My daughter is 6, we are making small pendants with insect press molds - firing @ cone 05, I need advice on glaze,

am looking for a good one coat glaze & a good place to order it from, perhaps a place that offers sampler kits.

Thanks D

[bciskepottery]

I've used Amaco Teacher's Palette glazes in a 6th grade class.

http://www.amaco.com...-lead-free.html

Available from Amaco or from most on-line pottery supply sites.

[karan]

A fun, non-fired finish I would do with kids sometimes would be to use watercolor paint, and seal with a sealant- either a clear wax like a floor wax, or even a clear shoe polish! (darker shoe polishes work great on texture too!!!)

But, I agree with the previous response too... the teacher's palett from Amaco is dependable. Just anticipate if you are doing the backs- you would of course have to stilt them!

Karan

[Denice]

If the pendants you are making you might consider a underglaze with a clear glaze on top, it may sound like extra work but it could save you a lot to headaches when it comes to firing. The Duncan underglazes has a lot of fun colors and neons, I don't know about sample kits. Are you firing these pendants on racks or laying flat on the shelf? Underglaze with clear I think is more stable far less chance of it melting onto your shelf. When my son was that age I had him make fossils we would roll a slab out and he would scratch a fossil pattern in the glaze, we would brush red iron oxide in the scratch marks and the put clear glaze on them. They were pretty natural looking, people would see them in my studio and ask where we found those cool old fossils. Denice

[Lucille Oka]

Be aware there are glazes that are not suitable for use by children. Check the Amaco website http://www.amaco.com
Also, if you are going to be firing pendants be sure to coat both sides, however on the back side of your pendants you only need one thin coat of the covering glaze so that your stilts won't stick. Have fun!

[DianneK]

Wow thanks everyone for all the great info. !! Luv D

[DianneK]

Denice, on 09 February 2012 - 07:12 AM, said:

If the pendants you are making you might consider a underglaze with a clear glaze on top, it may sound like extra work but it could save you a lot to headaches when it comes to firing. The Duncan underglazes has a lot of fun colors and neons, I don't know about sample kits. Are you firing these pendants on racks or laying flat on the shelf? Underglaze with clear I think is more stable far less chance of it melting onto your shelf. When my son was that age I had him make fossils we would roll a slab out and he would scratch a fossil pattern in the glaze, we would brush red iron oxide in the scratch marks and the put clear glaze on them. They were pretty natural looking, people would see them in my studio and ask where we found those cool old fossils. Denice

I think we are just firing on a shelf, we are using the community center kiln, I think they only have shelves .... thanks for reminding me of this, I'll have to call them & find out for sure. thanks, D

[DianneK]

karan, on 09 February 2012 - 06:22 AM, said:

A fun, non-fired finish I would do with kids sometimes would be to use watercolor paint, and seal with a sealant- either a clear wax like a floor wax, or even a clear shoe polish! (darker shoe polishes work great on texture too!!!)

But, I agree with the previous response too... the teacher's palett from Amaco is dependable. Just anticipate if you are doing the backs- you would of course have to stilt them!

Karan

Good point, I'm thinking that we will not glaze the backs as its a community kiln & we will not be the ones loading the kiln, I think we will get a better result if we are not depending on others to do stilts for us.

[scoobydoozie]

I'm not aware of any "one coat" glazes unless you are dipping. Brushing clear glaze is usually two coats and with underglazes like Mayco stroke 'n coat or Duncan Concepts, one coat will provide translucent coverage and 3 coats will provide solid coverage. Three good coats of those products will produce a shiny finish. To get a gloss on top of one coat, you need to apply one dipped coat or two brushed coats of clear glaze. I always apply 2 coats of clear on top of Stroke 'n Coat and Concepts to make sure I have a consistent shiny surface. Stroke 'n Coat and Concepts are made to work on bisque and can be clear glazed without firing first. This is a plus for small children as the bisque does not break as easy as greenware. They are all non-toxic as Duncan and Mayco have made their entire lines non-toxic. Hope this helps.