Betsy Cox has always worked with her hands. By day she worked as a physical therapy assistant helping people heal at Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale, WV. Evenings and weekends she threw pots and she’s kept at it for 28 years. Today she owns Echo Valley Pottery and is one of West Virginia’s elite ceramic artists. Three of her pieces are in the West Virginia Museum permanent collection in Charleston next door to the Capitol building. She is a
Hi there! We’ve been getting a lot of email and social media messages on three topics. Under glaze or over glaze? Best firing temperatures? And would we sell ceramic decals? Under glaze or over glaze?Artists who use iron oxide decals are accustomed to adding them either over or under glaze. CerPrint decals are typically used over a fired glaze surface, but we have had some users who have used them under glaze with success. We have not tested CerPrint decals
Recently, while testing CerPrint Blue and CerPrint Black toners, I wanted to see how high I could fire before the temperature affected the two pigments. Using our High Fire Lamination paper, I printed and laminated one black and one blue decal sheet and applied the decals to regular 4×4 porcelain tiles. I fired to 1825 degrees Fahrenheit–or around Cone 06–using the normal firing schedule. The black toner performed as I expected, resulting in a grayed out image. However, the blue
Kip O’Krongly mugged us with utility jars perfect for these final six weeks of winter. Thanks for the pics and sharing your experience with the CerPrint ceramic decal printer. Kip upgraded to the Akiles Pro Lam 330 laminator to use with his CerPrint ceramic decal printer in early 2022 and began incorporating more decals into her work. Kip’s tests show a more prominent edge to the decal if she cuts the decals using a Silhouette machine and applies them directly.
“Civilian Exclusion Order No. 74” arrived through our website and we wanted to know more. The piece crafted by Randy McClelland is a 20-inch woodfired jug finished with a CerPrint Blue decal image courtesy of the Clatsop County Historical Society. The jug displays, “a copy of the civilian exclusion order no. 74 that included Clatsop County, where I currently reside. If this were to happen again today, I would be packing up a bag and reporting to 599 Duane St
by Rob Hullar Just when I thought we had solved the problems we had been having with our One-Step High Fire Decal Paper, Murphy showed his face again. I’ve previously written about the quality challenges we had been experiencing with the one-step paper and my decision to move everyone to the lamination method. I backed off of that position after had continuing good luck with the new one-step paper. Sadly, we are back to recommending the lamination method. For those
by Shannon Goff, associate professor of Art, Pennsylvania State University Editor’s Note: Shannon Goff and students completed a mural for Corl St. Elementary using CerPrint and 12 x 24 tiles bought at a home supply store. Shannon earned her BFA from University of Michigan and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Back to school will look a little different this year at Corl St. Elementary. I’m happy to share that after four wild years of proposals, planning, pandemic, patience,
Quick Reference Guide Perhaps you know exactly where your CerPrint Ceramic Decal Printer user manuals are. If they are buried in a drawer somewhere, no worries. This reference guide is for you. • Only feed CerPrint Ceramic Decal Papers into the machine using the bypass tray. Using trays 1 or 2 for decal printing may cause jams.• Jammed paper may be covered with unfused toner. Avoid getting toner on your hands or clothes.• After clearing a decal paper jam, toner
Our friend and CerPrint decal printer user Tom Edwards is giving away a CerPrint decal printing system during his “Copyright 101” presentation TOMORROW during NCECA “Fertile Ground” in Sacramento! Mar. 17, 4:15 p.m., Ballroom B, Rms. 5 & 7. Be present to win! He’s also been interviewed recently by Paul Blais, host of “The Potter’s Cast.” Here’s a link to the podcast where Tom talks about using decals, avoiding copyright pitfalls, shitcoin and CerPrint.
Have you heard the one about the cartoon-drawing ceramic artist who sued Elon Musk for copyright infringement? It’s not an urban legend. It’s real. Here’s the backstory and how Tom Edwards is helping other potters avoid copyright infringement. “I took a ceramics class in high school because my guidance counselor suggested it and fell in love that first week. I kept it up as a hobby through college. I graduated with a history major—few jobs–and decided I’d run away and