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a camel hair brush

Did you know that having a camel hair brush does not mean that your brush is made from the hair of a camel? It refers to a type of soft hair used in making the brush. Usually a camel hair brush is made of squirrel, goat, ox, pony or a blend of several hairs, depending on the desired softness
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Application

Wet your brush with water before applying water-based ceramic glazes or underglazes. If you are using metallics, translucent stains, lustres or your mother-or-pearls, wet your brush with the medium used to clean your brush. Always blott the excess out on a paper towel.
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Feather stroking

Feather stroking is a painting technique of using thinned paint about the consistency of milk with a flat brush. Short strokes are taken across a paper towel to split brush hairs for colour application.
the brush is then dipped into two different colours and applied to the piece, gives great effects with swirls etc.
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Tricky areas

When painting areas that are hard to get at, take an old brush and bend the metal part with a pair of pliers to reach around corners.
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Storage

Use a piece of styrofoam to stick the tips of handles in with bristles up to store brushes.
Brushes may be washed in soap and water as long as they are rinsed clean before use with a particular media.
Never store brushes so that bristles are bent backward or out of shape.
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Using your brush

Remember, a brush acts like a fountain pen, allowing colour to flow down the brush body to the tip as you work.
Hold your brush as straight up and down as you can, using light pressure when you are making lines.
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Homemade brush effects

Brushes: Some lovely effects can be made with home made brushes.
They are best made with hair that has never been cut, be it human or animal, and bamboo is the easiest handle to work with.
It is a simple matter of gluing the hair together inside the bamboo, then twist wiring the outside to get a very tight fit.
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Brush hair in on my ceramic piece?

Brush hairs will fire out of all glazes. They will leave a mark in underglazes, matte, semi-matte or satin glazes as these ceramic products flow (move) very little during the firing process. Gloss glazes will move and smooth out the impression left by a stray brush hair.
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Beginners brushes

A recommended basic assortment of beginning brushes can include:
1) GLAZE BRUSH - Fan Glaze brush made of goat hair
2) SQUARE SHADER -sizes #4 & #8
3) ROUND BRUSH - sizes #6 & #8
4) LINER BRUSH -sizes #10/0, #2
Add sizes of shaders and rounds to your brush collection over time.
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Standing Brushes

Never let your brushes stand in water or other cleaner even if you are going to use them right away. This will tend to bend the bristles and may cause them to stay that way permanently.
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Keeping shape

If you know that you are not going to be using a particular brush for a long period of time, it is best to dampen it in glycerine or soap, form a point or flat edge as applies and let it dry. This will act as sizing and insure that your bristles will be the right shape when you are ready to use them. Simply wash them out before using.
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Stain brushes

Your stain brushes, made of stiff white bristles, will become stained when used in a variety of colours. This does not mean there is still paint in them.
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Double-load

Double-load is the term that applies to loading your brush with more than one colour. The load can be increased to three or four colours.
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Liner brushes

A liner is a long bristled brush used for fine line design work. This is different than a detail brush which has short bristles and will not hold much color.
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‘sabeline ceramic brushes'

Did you know that ‘sabeline' is a specially prepared light-colored ox hair that is used in brushes? The use of Sabeline in conjunction with Sable will make a lower cost, good quality brush. Ceramic brushes made of natural bristles will hold fired product better than synthetic.
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Homemade

Brushes: Some lovely effects can be made with home made brushes.
They are best made with hair that has never been cut, be it human or animal, and bamboo is the easiest handle to work with.
It is a simple matter of gluing the hair together inside the bamboo, then twist wiring the outside to get a very tight fit.
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Ferrule

The ferrule is the metal band toward the end of the brush that holds the bristles together.
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Soap?

Brushes may be washed in soap and water as long as they are rinsed clean before use with a particular media.
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Mark brushes

It is a good idea to set aside a specific brush for a certain type of overglaze. Mark each brush as to what they were used for and save them for that purpose.
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Brush Parts

Most ceramic brushes have of four parts--

1) TIP - the very end of the brush hairs
2) RESERVOIR -the hairs that hold a reserve of color
3) FERRULE- the metal part
4) HANDLE -usuall made of wood, acrylic,or bamboo

The tip and reservoir are probably the most important parts of any brush, but the handle should be evenly weighted to achieve a well balanced brush stroke.
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Old toothbrushes

Old toothbrushes can be used for decorating ceramics. The bristles are stiff and can be used as a splatter brush. Also useful for joining when handbuilding.
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Square shader

To load a square shader, immerse it in colour by pulling it through the colour. After it is loaded, press both sides of the tip of the brush flat against your palette to form a sharp edge.
You may build depth in your shading strokes by laying different colours over each other. This is done by stroking the darkest colour on the bottom and applying a lighter colour over the top.
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Quality brushes

Ever wonder why brushes are so expensive? Think of all the little hairs that have to go into one brush and the price of high quality fur which they come from. In addition, all quality brushes are hand made.
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Cost

As with any tool, the better quality you buy, the better and easier the job becomes. The same applies to brushes. The higher priced brushes are worth their cost.
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Cleaning Brushes

If brushes do not come as clean as you want when cleaning in water, you can run them under the faucet. You may also wash brushes in mild detergent as long as you wash out the soap when done.
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During use

Never let your brushes stand in water or other cleaner even if you are going to use them right away. This will tend to bend the bristles and may cause them to stay that way permanently.
When cleaning your brushes, never push the bristles against the bottom of the container that holds the cleaner. The bristles could be cut off when you bend them back over the metal ferruel.
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Two-bottle wash

When cleaning brushes, always use a two-bottle wash. Use the first to clean your brush as well as you can, then do a final cleaning in a clean second jar. When the first jar becomes too dirty, move your second up to first and get a new second. Let the first jar of cleaner settle and pour off the clean solvent or thinner for using again.
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Practice

Practice makes perfect when learning brush strokes. Experiment a bit of applying different pressure to your brush tip to learn the effects different pressures have.
When using your brush the more pressure you exert, the fatter the lines will be and the more colour you will lay down.
When loading your brush you should remember that you do not load a dry brush. When using water base colours, always dampen the bristles first before loading with colour.
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Practice makes perfect

Save old phone books for practicing brush strokes.
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Build depth

To build depth with a brush stroke, you can double-load your brush with two different colours. This is usually done by loading your brush with the lightest colour and tipping in a darker colour. Then stroke on the colour. The action of the brush will inter-mix colours. You should not try to get too many strokes out of one brush load however. Clean your brush and start again about every 2-3 strokes.
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Loading liner brush

When loading a liner brush, immerse the bristles entirely in colour. Pull the brush through the colour, turning the brush at the same time, so your bristles form a fine point. Do not put too much pressure on the brush when doing this or you will squeeze out all the colour.
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Storing brushes

Use a piece of styrofoam to stick the tips of handles in with bristles up to store brushes.
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Holding the brush

The trick to most brush strokes is holding the brush correctly. It is best not to hold it like a pencil but rather between the thumb and forefinger.

A cheap brush will produce cheap results.
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Removing Gum

If you have some difficulty in getting some of the sticky gum material out of your brushes, try dipping them in nail polish remover (banana oil) and wiping clean. Be sur to rinse well with water afterwards.
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Ceramic Brushes

Having quality ceramic brushes can make the difference between getting the result you want and frustrating creative failure. The paintings on your ceramics are what makes them stand out and gives them life. You should find out about the different kind of brushes available and how to care and preserve your brushes - especially those that you enjoy using the most. Learn about ceramic brushes and techniques here at ceramics.lifetips.com.
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Alternative brushes

You can find animal tails in fishing and hunting stores, sold as inexpensive lures. Use these to make handmade brushes. Chicken and bird feathers can make interesting brushes as well.
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Brushes

Most brush-on sealers are water soluable and brushes may be cleaned effectively with water. Be sure to check label.
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Tip

The tip is the painting end of the bristles.
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