How to Make a Child's Handprint on a Ceramic Tile
By Dy Witt
This is a fun
craft to do with a group of moms and their kids, one child
per adult works the best. Each mom will need:
---One soft
brush, any size but 1/2" works the best
---One jar of
"One-Stroke Ceramic underglaze", either Duncan E-Z Stroke
or Gare One-Stroke. (Of course they can share these, but it's best
if they have at least 3 colors to choose from. The best are a dark
green, a dark blue or a dark brown. One jar of each color will do
50 hands altogether)
---One pint
jar of "clear gloss glaze", which all can use.
---A sponge
---Paper towels
and a washcloth
---One blank
UNglazed ceramic tile, 4-1/4" (for kids 2 or 3 yrs. old or so)
or 6" (for kids over 3) Unless you know someone who does hand-painted
tile as a career, these would have to be ordered in cases of 100 or
so. The best thing is to call the hobby ceramic stores, where you
will get the underglaze and clear glaze, and ask if they have a "molded
greenware or bisque tile they sell", and order the quantity you
need. Tell them you would like them "fired to bisque."
The most important
thing is that the children's' hands are scrubbed with soap and water,
then dried well. Salt, sugar or oils on the hands will prevent the
glaze from bonding with the tile. Make sure to wipe the tile well
with a clean sponge in plain water. Allow to dry a few minutes.
Tell the kids
that it is like hand-painting only without wiggling their fingers.
Make it fun, some get scared. Hold their clean hand gently over a
tile to make sure their hand will fit, fingers spread out a little.
Pick the right size tile and paint one wet coat of glaze across the
flat of their open palm, not too runny but not too dry, following
the instructions for mixing on the bottle. Try to keep their fingers
from touching, the more still they keep their hand, the better the
clarity. A good print will show fingerprints! But if it smears,
it usually does, it's all for fun anyway. If it starts to become
a battle with the child, let him go, when he sees the other kids having
a good time he will offer his hand to be painted. (I say "he"
because it is usually the boys that wimp out, the girls are more adventurous.
lol)
Make sure the
paint goes all the way to the ends of the fingers and thumb and press
the hand straight down onto the surface of the tile, quickly but gently
and firmly, rolling the fingers slightly so the print doesn't look
like skeleton fingers lol. Lift the hand straight up and see how
cool! Wash their hands with soap, the paint is water soluble and
non-staining, but don't let them lick it. With a fine brush, write
the child's name and date or birthday or age right on the tile. Set
it in a safe place to dry well.
If you are nervous
about smearing the dry glaze, have them fired at "cone 04"
before painting the clear gloss on top. This is the proper way, but
if the underglaze is good and dry and you are very careful, it is
ok to put the clear glaze on unfired underglaze and fire the tile
once at "cone 06" and the results will be the same. Either
way, get the large floppy brush again and paint 3 thin coats of clear
gloss on the tile and fire to "cone 06".
You can buy
frames from most ceramic stores that sell the tiles. They will last
forever. Have fun!
Dy Witt used
to display and sell at street fairs, and painting kids handprints
was always a fun thing. Her 21 years experience painting
with ceramic glaze is obvious when you view her murals and
tiles here on her website. http://www.dyztilz.com
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