Vinyl Mask on Ceramics

I've been meaning to make this post for a while, but first I had to do the project. The creation of this particular vase thing has a few absurd twists and turns--one of the walls fell off for a while--but the monochromatic imagery on it gave it meaning...it's an apartment building!
Vinyl mask glazing is just like using paper or masking tape cutouts, except the vinyl cutter can help you cut detailed shapes and pieces. Using Adobe Illustrator on your own computer or in the eStudio, you can trace and then expand your image so that there are vector lines telling the vinyl cutter where to cut.


Next, weed the vinyl, removing the areas where you want glaze to go- in this case, this the "positive" of your image.


Stick it on your bisqued piece...

Spray with glaze (tenmoku on this piece)

Peel the vinyl off, exposing the bare clay. At this point you could apply another coat (say...celedon...or whatever) and get a layered effect. I left mine with the bare clay exposed.


And finally, it's ready to go into the kiln: