China Painting- Before & After

Hi there!

Whew- I'm getting back into the swing of china painting (a.k.a. over-glaze painting).  I've done it so seldom in the past I find myself always having to turn to a couple of pros (*thanks Joanie & Karen!*) with questions every time I try it. 

I decided to let my Little One...  she needs a name, doesn't she?  Let's call her... Lizzy*.  I decided to let Lizzy be my guinea pig when it came to me getting back into china painting.  When last we left her, she was all shiny and ready for over-glaze.  This type of pigment gets fired on at a rather low  temperature for ceramics (in this case, around 1300-1400... really, that is low for me!).  You can't tell in these photos, but I've been firing a bit this week & actually still tinkering to find the sweet spot for my kiln.  I last fired to cone 018, but it wasn't quite high enough to fully set the paint (it still looks slightly matte in areas), so I'm going to have to go up to cone 017 (the smaller the number past the "0," the hotter, believe it or not!).  But I think that'll work! 

I thought I'd share one of the area's I'm working on- adding in faint spots and 'halo' markings. 

Here is Lizzy before:

Here she is after:

I might add a little more yet, since I need to fire her again!  The Dantes are coming along- I hope to get their 06 (glossy glaze) firing in this weekend, so I can start china-painting them next week.  Can't wait to finish them all!

:)

*After Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett, of course!