Zart Extra Term 3 2011
Experimentation: Inkjet Print on Clay
Marantha Christian School
At the end of 2008, Maranatha Christian School’s senior art teacher Jenny Hodge, after much experimentation, pushed the boundaries of printing on clay by developing a world first method for transferring images using the humble inkjet printer. Her method has now been globally recognized, published and is highly sought after by teachers from around the world as an easily achievable and fun method for students of all ages.
A DVD on the method is soon to be produced. The technique is called Inkjet Print on Clay and it is easier to accomplish than to pronounce! The words of the methodology, heavy on technology, somehow have fascinating connotations. But it is not only the name that evokes a sense of wonder and mystery. The pure white clay, black where oxides stain it, the magical use of clear transparencies to transfer images and the brilliant end result all contribute.
Appealing to students? Most certainly. This mysterious untapped world is utterly beguiling! It triggers something inside of you; a mood which can only be described as artistic bliss, as you watch your own photograph or drawing miraculously appear on the cool white surface of the slippery clay beneath your fingertips. It whets your appetite for even more discoveries away from well known ceramic paths and it stirs in students a quest for more and more creative ways to see their own images in a new medium.
From years 7 to 12, Maranatha students have embraced print on clay as an effortless technique to learn. They were the first in Australia to try out the ground breaking method with interesting results.
The new method uses a simple process of applying a wet overhead inkjet transparency to leather hard clay. Before the overhead is applied to the clay, it is dusted with fine ceramic powders – oxides mixed with underglazes to get a brilliant result. Timing is crucial however, as is the temperature of the rolled clay. Beautifully clear photographic images are able to be reproduced. These then become individual art works on formed and shaped clay as each clay firing will slightly alter the oxide colours producing different effects. At Maranatha, many experiments have already been done using the school’s electric kiln with different mixes and strengths of underglaze colours. Students have been working their own photos using their knowledge of Photoshop to apply them to their clay forms which can be bent or pushed into practically any shape.
The medium has endless possibilities, both as an art form and as a dramatic new carrier of messages and beliefs. It does not have the limitations of hand painting but can be combined with this. Two dimensional visual imagery can now be easily combined with 3D form and the sky is the limit. The new method is both readily accessible for schools and is visually exciting as it produces instant results which unfold before the students eyes and students enjoy working on their own photos or drawings in the start of the process. The Maranatha Art Department hopes to really develop this method further in the future.
Jenny Hodge
Visual Art Teacher
Maranatha Christian School
Resource: The method can be obtained by emailing Jenny on khodge07@bigpond.com
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Key words: Zart Extra, newsletter, article, teacher resource, School Projects, Primary
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