Screen Printed Sun & Moon Ceramic Bisque Plate

When I realized how easy it was to screen print on bisque tiles (see last Instructable's tutorial) I decided to try something more difficult, or I thought was more difficult. It was actually quite easy!

Materials:

Ready to use EZScreen Sun & Moon silk screen stencil

Duncan Concepts under-glaze

Beveled bisque plate

Flat artist brush approx. 1.5" wide

Step 1: Painting the Plate

I started by painting the plate in an ombre style. I used a dark blue ceramic under-glaze slightly watered down and painted with a flat artist brush around the edges of the plate. As I got closer to the middle, I continuously added more white to the blue glaze. Three coats were applied.

Step 2: Screen Printing the Edges

I cut the Sun & Moon Ready-To-Use stencil to better fit the plate. Using a yellow under-glaze, I screen printed the stars in the stencil around the edges.

Step 3: Screen Printing the Sun/moon

I positioned the stencil in the center of the plate, took a few deep breaths, and screen printed the design using the same yellow as applied to the edges.

Step 4: Fixing Some Areas

Because of the serving style of the plate, some areas of the design bled or smeared near the curves. Next time, I would use a flatter plate or a smaller version of the Sun & Moon design. I fixed some of the smeared areas using a fine artist brush.

Step 5: Glazed and Fired

My piece was clear dipped and placed in a low-fire kiln for 24 hours. I was very happy with how my piece turned out, as this was my first time with with ceramics. Next time, I would use a darker color for the main design so it pops more. But that's how you learn!

Thanks for looking :)