DIY Network

Copy Machine Art Visit DIY's Craft Lab to learn how to create art on clay. From "Craft Lab" episode DCLB-234

Guest Stephen Horn joins host Jennifer Perkins and demonstrates how to cut and prepare a slab of clay for printing. He shows how to make copies and imprint them onto the clay slab — and then he embellishes the clay with clay paint and imprints.

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	Guest Stephen Horn reveals the technique for making photocopies and imprinting them onto clay slabs to create your own unique piece of art.
	The project begins with a slab of clay and wood strips that act as guides.
	Steel wire attached to wooden dowels is used to slice the clay into ...
	nice, even cuts that will be used for the photo prints.
	Be sure to copy your image onto a transparency before photocopying it. This allows you to "reverse" the image if need be.
	Once the clay piece is fired the color comes out, as seen with the finished photo on left.
	Here is an example of a "fused" copy (image) printed on clay. The difference with the fusing is that this print went all the way through the copy machine. This is a traditional lithographic technique.

Copy Machine Art

Project designed by Stephen Horn.

Materials:

Canon PC940 photocopy machine
wet plastic clay
two-dimensional images for copying such as photos, drawings, prints
materials with textured surfaces
00 plate oil
gum arabic solution
ceramic pigments
glass sheet, 24" x 24"
brayer roller
colored slips or engobes
litho sponge
putty knife
wooden pieces used for guides (see image, right)
wire and two wooden dowels (to slice the clay in even portions — see image, right)

FYI: Engobes are mixtures of clays, natural clays or other ceramic raw materials. Usually they are in subdued or rich earth colors. They are applied to wet or dry greenware (not bisque) and then fired to the maturing temperature of the clay being decorated. They do not create a sealed or glassy surface on their own so you can cover them with a clear glaze.

Steps for Toner Monoprint

1. Push the print/start button on the photocopier to copy the image, but turn off the machine before the heating element fuses the image to the paper. The light bar will be about two thirds of the way across the glass. You will have to practice your timing.

2. Open the copier to remove the paper, which will not yet have exited the output rollers.

3. Carefully place the paper, infused image down, on a wet clay slab; note that at this stage the iron-oxide toner is easily smeared. Rub the back of the paper to transfer the image onto clay. Too much pressure will distort the image. You may check the transfer by lifting the edges of the paper, avoiding contact with printed areas.

4. When the image is transferred, remove the paper. If you wish you may now inscribe lines or otherwise apply texture to the clay surface.

5. Once printed and textured, the clay slab is ready to be formed into a two-dimensional tile or a three-dimensional object. Remember that the image is not set and will smear when touched.

6. When dry, the work is ready for firing.

Steps for Paper Litho Monoprint

1. As with the toner monoprint, print the image on the photocopier. This time, however, you want a fused image, so let the paper feed completely out of the machine.

2. Place the printed paper on a glass surface, image side up. Brush on a generous coat of gum Arabic solution to impregnate the paper fibers.

3. Use a brayer to apply a prepared ceramic ink (composed of 00 plate oil and a ceramic oxide) to the image. After applying the ink clean the brayer by rolling on scrap paper. The ink mixture should be somewhat thin or runny.

4. With a wet litho sponge, gently wipe the surface of the paper to remove excess ink.

5. Reapply the ink and again wipe off the excess. The toner part of the print is accepting the ink while the wet paper is resisting the ink. If you see excess ink or "scum" on unprinted areas, wipe it off.

6. When there is a sufficient build up of ink on the toner areas, you are ready to print. Carefully pick up the paper at the edges and place it face down on your clay surface.

7. Place another piece of paper (same size or larger) atop the printed paper. Use your hand, a brayer roller, or a burnishing stick to transfer the image.

Note: This process is a traditional printmaking technique that you are applying to a ceramic medium. It requires much practice. For more information, consult books and other sources on lithographic techniques.

RESOURCES :

Ceramics and Print
By Paul Scott
ISBN: 0-8122-1800-0
University of Pennsylvania Press
Website: www.upenn.edu/pennpress

GUESTS :

Stephen Horn
Associate Professor of Art, Riverside Community College
We apologize no further information is available.