Crafts The dictionary defines resist as: "Something (as a coating) that resists or prevents a particular action," and, referring to ceramic processes, "Decorated by or involving decoration by a process in which blank areas of design are made by coating ceramic materials with washable resist before applying glaze, lustre, or other finish."

Several types of resist are used in ceramic decoration; a piece of paper, such as a stencil, is a form of resist, as is the liquid latex mentioned in an earlier chapter. The most versatile, however, probably is wax, which has been used as a resist for a variety of decorating techniques, for many years.

It is not known when wax was first used as a resist, but artifacts of bygone ages indicate that it was utilized by early potters of many cultures. It is assumed that wax was first used as a solid, in the form of a crayon, to draw designs on ware prior to the application of color or glaze. Later, the wax was used in a melted, liquid form and applied with brushes of fibers or animal hair. Wax is still used in these forms, but the hobby ceramist of today has available various wax-resist emulsions, which are vastly superior materials. These emulsions contain wax in a fluid form, which can be applied by brush and sponge and which dry to a solid wax finish. Unlike melted wax, which is difficult to remove from brushes and other equipment, wax emulsion can be washed from tools and brushes, before it dries, with water. This material also disappears almost completely when the ware on which it is used is fired.




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May 19, 2012