3. Pastel Watercolor Wash
What This Idea Means
The Pastel Watercolor Wash brings fluid movement, softness, and dreamy hues to your ceramic pieces. By diluting ceramic glazes or specialty paints, colors bleed together seamlessly, creating a cloudy, ethereal atmosphere reminiscent of morning light or watercolor paintings.
How to Make It
- Dampen Surface: Clean your white ceramic piece. Slightly moisten the surface with a clean wet sponge.
- Dilute Paints: Mix your chosen pastel colors (e.g., lavender, sky blue, soft peach) with water or glaze medium to achieve a translucent consistency.
- Apply Color Droplets: Load a large mop brush with paint and douse areas of the ceramic. Let the wet paint pool, drip, and run naturally.
- Blend Edges: Use a wet, clean sponge or fluffy brush to softly blend overlapping borders where colors meet.
- Dab Excess: Gently dab away drips with a paper towel if they accumulate too heavily at the base.
- Bake or Seal: Allow complete drying before firing or applying a clear coat.
Tips & Variations
- Gold Veins: Once the watercolor wash is dry, paint fine, jagged lines of gold luster along the borders where two colors bleed together.
- Salt Effect: While the paint is still wet, sprinkle coarse sea salt over the ceramic to pull pigment and create starburst spots.
Needs & Materials
- Smooth white ceramic plate or mug
- Dilutable ceramic paints or Underglazes (Lavender, Sky Blue, Peach)
- Large mop brush and sea sponge
- Water bowl and paper towels
- Gloss glaze coat