Ceramic - Pottery Dictionary

by Susan Mussi

BRUSHES - Practicable for pottery.

ca: PINZELLS – Aprofitables en ceràmica.

es: PINCELES - Aprovechables en cerámica.

a) Brush – to clean bisque. Before starting to decorate, you must clean the dust off the bisque. You need a brush that is not too hard or too soft. The most popular ones are wide, short handled and with soft washable hair, used for painting furniture. They are used to clean the dust off all bisque objects before starting to decorate.

b) Brush – to clean glaze-base. Very soft, large brushes made in China. They are cheap, washable and do not lose hair. When ware has been prepared with a slip or glaze-base and needs to be cleaned of dust or dirt these brushes are excellent as they are so soft and do not scratch or damage the unfired surface.

c) Brush – to clean small parts. This is an old toothbrush with its hair cut down, it is strong and good for cleaning the glaze off the foot of plates and jars.

d) & e) Brushes – to clean glaze-base off tiles. This is the type of brush used for scrubbing floors and it should be purchased with natural bristle and wooden body. There are two types (d) is the strongest and (e) has bristles that are thinner and softer. When tiles have been prepared with a glaze-base these brushes are used to clean off the base from their backs and sides. To start use a strong brush, the more you use it, the more it wears out and the better it works. The most worn-out ones are good to clean the backs of tiles on which there is a lot of glaze-base. To make more work all industrial tiles are made with a protruding design on the back and the more intricate the design the harder it is to clean. Read more about: Glaze-Base (f) Cleaning it off tiles

f) Brush made of palm leaves. This brush has the form shown in the two photos. They are made out of leaves of palm trees and made in different sizes. If the brush is new, soak it in water, the older and more used, the better. Knock it about a bit to give it an uneven texture. It can be used for dusting the bisque and is very good for making uneven textures with glaze and colors. Read more about: Glaze-Base (m) Textures

g) Brush – to paint outlines in the Majolica method. You need two or three brushes, about size 10, cut down to a different thickness to form a narrow, flat end. The thick part holds the paint so it runs down through the thin part and allows long unbroken strokes. The drawing shows a brush before and after cutting, these are for painting outlines.