| Artist's Statement | 
| Gallery |
Benjamin Fiess
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater
Subject Listing - Studio Art
Advisor: Mr. Jared Janovec
Friday, Visual Art Session 5, Presentation 4, University Gallery
SCREEN-PRINTING ON CERAMIC CLAY BODIES
The purpose of this project is to determine the best method of printing onto clay. Historically, screen printing is one of the newest methods of printing onto clay, being adopted by industry in the 1950s. The commercial ceramics industry mostly takes advantage of screen printed decals, which can be placed on fired and glazed ceramic surfaces. Even though there has been abundant use of screen printing in the commercial arena, many studio artists using ceramic materials have yet to apply this technique. The two methods of screen printing on clay that I have explored are direct underglaze printing, and overglaze decal prints. Both methods have their unique advantages and drawbacks. Printing colored underglaze engobes has allowed me to directly print graphic imagery on the clay. However, due to the large size of pigments, detail was sacrificed. I have found that imagery can be printed onto flat slabs of unfired, wet clay much like a typical print on paper is made, however a different technique must be used for printing on curved surfaces. This is best accomplished by printing onto paper and then soaking the paper right before pressing it against leather hard clay. Different types of paper work better than others, and so far I have concluded that printer paper works the best. I have been doubling the concentration of pigment in the engobe to compensate for thin application of color the printing process produces. Printing decals has offered the advantage of finer, more detailed imagery, but it has required an extra firing cycle to fuse the china paint to the ceramic body. More detail has been attainable because a finer screen mesh was used. My research has focused on testing different screen mesh sizes, squeegee durometers and pigment concentrations. The results of my research will be displayed as test tiles printed with identical imagery, changing the above-mentioned variables. My research has allowed me to find a reliable method of printing imagery on my ceramic forms.
Advisor: Mr. Jared Janovec, Academic Staff Instructor, Department of Art, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, Whitewater, WI