Welcome to the Potter’s Tree!
We love talking, and can talk quite a lot, sometimes we can forget to give you a bit of information between all fun we are having of the hustle and bustle of the studio.
So, we have now compiled a few pointers for you, that you can take your time to read through, to make you experience easier.
here is a quick explanation of our process:
1. Choose your item
2. Sand and lightly wash your item with a damp sponge – please do not soak your item as the water absorbency will cause problems with the paint and firing process.
3. Check for chips and cracks – bring this to the attention of your waiter or the Manager if you find any so we can ascertain if it can be fixed or your item should be replaced.
4. Please fluff your brushes to get any possible dry paint out and rinse them. We do take care to clean the brushes but sometimes there might be paint particles stuck in the bristles. This can cause colour bleeding through in the glaze firing, which you won’t see after paitning.
5. The color of the bisqueware that you choose, will help with choosing your paint colors. All colors work well on the light pink buff items, but it is advised to use the bright colors on the terracotta items, as the terracotta bakes to a rich chocolatey brown.
6. Please do not paint a white base coat – paint your item the color that you want it to be
7. Light colors (ie. white, coral, light blue, light yellow etc) – 3 coats
8. Dark colors ( ie. bright orange, cherry red, cobalt, etc)– 2 coats
9. Squeezy tip bottles – 1 coat as this is equal to 2 coats. Please do not open the squeezy bottles to paint.
10. Please remember to the check the color label on the bottle, it should correspond to the heart above the bottles. Do note the Cobalt Blue looks purple, but it fires to a very beautiful dark blue.
11. Do not worry about pen and pencil marks, these will burn away in the oven.
12. Do not paint black, red or cobalt blue over white.
13. Do not paint light colors over dark colors.
14. If you want to paint white over black, rather use charcoal.
16. Please ask your waiter or the manager to assist with the stenciling process, tracing process, sponge painting and bubble painting. We are here to help.
17. Any painting mistakes can be wiped off with a clean sponge. Please ensure that there is no paint on your sponge when cleaning mistakes as this might cause color bleeding through.
Frequently asked Questions
1. Why is my item not glazed on the bottom?
Items that have a surface that touch the shelves in the ovens, are not glazed on the contact area. Glazing the contact area, will cause your item to fuse to the shelf, and then it will break.
Last note from the Potter’s Tree,
If you are collecting items, please check them before leaving and bring any faults or concerns to our attention.
If you have any questions, please send them to us, we will gladly publish your questions with answers.
Have fun!
Passionate about pottery! Passionate about life!