Bubble painting has got to be one of the most fun and original techniques I’ve ever come across. Kids of all ages love it and so do adults. The technique works great with underglazes or stains.

To find out more about painting with bubbles, click here

Chalking is a wonderful medium to use on your decorative ceramic and porcelain pieces. They are not suitable for utilitarian pieces such as those for food, cooking or those which are subject to immersion in water. Vases and the like may be chalked if the insides are glazed to make them water tight.

There are several methods of using chalks to create your works of art. 1) Dry application, 2) Wet application and 3) Accent work in conjunction with other techniques. Because of their powdery nature, chalking takes some time and care as they wipe off easily during application, so it is necessary to ‘fix’ each layer with a spray of acrylic fixative. This spray fixes or makes the chalk stay in place.

Basic application, regardless of which technique you employ, requires that there be a base coat of stain on ceramic. Porcelain pieces do not require the base coat. The reason is that porcelain is pretty smooth and glass-like and part of the attraction of porcelain is its texture; whereas, ceramic cast pieces are more porous and do not give the soft glow that porcelain does. The chalk technique does give a somewhat porcelain glow to ceramic pieces.

To learn more about this technique, click here

CAG has come to your computer. This is really exciting news. A well reputed company is starting a new website which promises to be a panacea of information and education for ceramists of all levels.

The CAG or Ceramic Artist Guild will be offering their first internet newsletter to be published on May 1, 2009.

Here is your chance to get in on the ground floor of a site and organization that is geared to help everyone who is enthusiastic about ceramics from any level. Novice, hobbyist, or professional.

Their emphasis will be on cast ceramics and adapting the old to the new. Much like I do here, but on a larger scale.

There are three levels for membership. The craftsman level is free. There is a nominal membership fee for Artist and Professional level, but it comes with additional perks.

I would like to point out that I am very proud to be spotlighted in their first issue and they will be offering one of my projects. I am very excited.

I encourage all of you to sign up before May by clicking here so that you won’t miss out on this publication. Please check it out and if you decide to sign up, tell them Majik sent you.

I am saddened that many of our old techniques and ceramic products are becoming lost to us, especially those individuals who are new to the art of ceramics. That is one reason I started this website and this blog to try to pass on my 40 years of ceramics knowledge. This experience includes all kinds of fired art projects and techniques which, unless old-timers step up and teach new hobbyists, will become totally forgotten and lost.

Many of the techniques that I will present here may include products that are no longer on the market, but with a little research and use of the internet, there is a possibility similar products will be found that will produce the same effects.

The point of this article is to open your eyes to the OLD which will be NEW to you. Find those old paints and those old ceramics craft magazines and learn as much as you can. There is a wealth of information to be had sitting in some box, stuck in some corner long forgotten.

The field of ceramic and clay and fired arts is cyclical and in time, those Oldies will make a comeback…slightly modified, newer packaging, but basically the same.

I encourage everyone to learn about them and find new ways to use them.