A New Decade

Rachel Kingston. Top and centre: Work in Progress. 2005. Porcelain slipcast sheets, folded and fired to 1280C. Above: Work in Progress. 2005. Direct Ilford Novajet Inkjet print on porcelain slipcast sheet pre-fired to 1280C. Below: Image from Encad Printer. 1967. Direct Ilford Novajet Inkjet print on porcelain slipcast sheet pre-fired to 1280C. 28 x 22 cm. Collection of the artist.

independently with the same complex technical goals to find or develop a method of digitally printing a photographic image onto a ceramic surface, to create a three dimensional form from that ceramic print without loss or distortion of the image and then to fire this printed clay form successfully retaining the print quality. The end goal was a porcelain sculptural piece in which the photographic image is intrinsic to the form itself. We had parallel journeys. We all experimented in various ways with the photographic printing technique gum bichromate and all began by making sheets of porcelain on which to print. After modifying and mastering our various print methods, we each began to search for a way to construct or model with these ceramic prints. During this search, all three of us independently discovered Keraflex Porcelain. After trialing our various printing methods on Keraflex, each artist discovered that, as a print surface, it was superior due to its choice of two surface finishes (each side of the sheet differs in texture) and incredible green strength. It can also be cut with scissors and bonded with the Keraflex slurry before firing. Keraflex also has an extraordinary ability to retain a form with a minimum of slumping at stoneware temperatures. With these unique characteristics, it became the material of choice for this project for all three artists. Olio mastered the traditional gum bichromate dusting on technique and Hodge, looking for a digital equivalent, began working with an inkjet dusting on transfer method. These printed sheets had to be handled carefully after printing so that the image did not deteriorate. So both Olio and Hodge carefully constructed simple, elegant forms from their two dimensional (2D) printed sheets. My end goal was to develop a durable ceramic printed image in the round rather than a cut and constructed piece a print which I could manipulate into very complex three dimensional (3D) forms and that would be stable during the firing process. In the pursuit of this goal, I moved through a number of methods in quick succession, developing some new inkjet print techniques for both two and three dimensional cut and constructed ceramics. Finally I developed a new direct digital laser print technique that enables the creation of delicate, sculptural porcelain prints which can be fired to cone ten.This simple method is the result of a long process of elimination and can only be achieved with Keraflex. It seems fitting that it is now the year 2010 and a new decade of ceramic and print technology has just begun. Rachel Kingston With a long background in printmaking and photomedia, during the final two years of my BA Hons (Photomedia) at the Australian National University (ANU) I had begun presenting my photographic work as room installations, using printed backlit vellum and printed 3D paper sculptures
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Rachel Kingston updates the advancements made with digital ceramic print technology and Keraflex Porcelain

hree artists (myself included) all worked

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under black lights. After a difficult artistic struggle and finally recognizing my need to work in 3D, I cast around for the right sculptural medium. I became interested in porcelain not only for its visual similarity to my previous mediums, being paper thin and translucent, but also for its unique material qualities. Conceptually my work explored fragility, impermanence and loss and porcelain, therefore, seemed like the perfect fit between concept and material. I applied to do an MVA (Master of Visual Arts with dual majors in ceramics and photomedia) in 2005. I came to ceramics with no experience, knowing exactly what I wanted to achieve: a thin translucent porcelain material that I could work with like paper. It was a leap of faith from the Head of the Ceramics Department, Janet Deboos, that she graciously accepted my application. I spent the first six months of my MVA mastering the skills needed to make porcelain pages with which I could create 3D forms. Always ready to push the boundaries of what is materially possible, I researched every technique I could find. My lack of ceramic skills required me to painstakingly test and notate everything I did. By mid 2005 I had devised a new method of making porcelain pages that could be easily manipulated before firing. Before they were dry, these pages could be folded into complex forms, cut with scissors, twisted and bent before firing with no cracking and fired with very little slumping. With this achievement, my goalposts shifted. I now wanted to be able to print on my porcelain sheets before modelling them. However, any 3D manipulation (beyond simple cut and constructed forms) of these sheets had to be done before the sheets were dry and so printing on the 2D sheets was the only option. With the generous support of the ANU Photomedia Department, I was granted a post-graduate research position in their Inkjet Research Facility (IRF) and was given free rein to stretch the limits of the Encad Novajet flatbed printer in any way possible. I developed a method for printing onto my 2D sheets of fired porcelain in full photographic colour. This was achieved with the use of a framed print bed custom made for each sheet, adjusting the height of the print head, droplet size and saturation depending on the colour balance of each image. Given the porosity of the porcelain, ink bleed was an initial problem, more with some colours than others. I tried many different acrylic sealants before finding one that was porous enough to allow the inkjet inks to soak in and dry instead of beading on the surface. I printed my first successful direct digital full colour inkjet print on a 2D fired ceramic surface in August 2005. I also experimented with a painterly printing method. Textured surfaces were built up with various painting media and were then printed. These photo-ceramic paintings were another technique to add to my growing ceramic and print repertoire, however, the inkjet inks could not be fired, so I could only print on 2D pre-fired sheets. I had also been researching Gum Bichromate printing. Not wanting to use traditional photographic techniques, I instead developed a digital inkjet version of this technique. I printed directly onto both fired and unfired porcelain sheets. Deactivating the drying unit to keep the inks as wet as possible, I dusted dry pigments directly onto the inkjet ink, and fired the print to fix them. As a print method, this was very successful and unfired sheets could also be used but due to the loose pigments on the surface of the unfired print, the clay could not be manipulated successfully before firing. This method has a lot of potential for cut and constructed work (see Hodge)
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Rachel Kingston. Top: Imperial Porcelain Plane, Love Letters Version I). 2006. Digital decal on slipcast porcelain sheet, fired to 1260C. Private collections. Centre: Work in Progress. 2006 Direct Laser print on unfired Keraflex Porcelain sheet. Below: Refuse (Detail). 2006. Direct laser print on Keraflex Porcelain, fired to 1280C. Dimensions variable. Collection of the Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts.

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Rachel Kingston. Refuse (Detail). 2006. Direct laser print on Keraflex Porcelain, fired to 1280C. Dimensions variable. Collection of the Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts.

Graciela Olio. Centre: Project South Home Series. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, ceramic pigment and gold lustre fired to 1260C. Above: Project South Home Series. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, ceramic pigments and glaze.

but again, could not be used to produce complex 3D forms. Around that time, I purchased some Keraflex Porcelain, which at that time was not available in Australia.* See NOTE. I was staggered at the sculptural possibilities due to its green strength and malleability. Keraflex seemed also to have vast printing potential but considering this was a relatively new material, this was as yet unexplored. My cross-disciplinary techniques generated significant interest by ceramists, photographers and printmakers as this ceramic-print work spanned all of those disciplines. Dr. Martyn Jolly (Head of Photograpy and Media Arts, ANU) presented my work at the Queensland Photography Festival Symposium, Digital and Analogue Photography, QUT, October, 2006 and at that time I began to give talks and demonstrations on my new techniques at a variety of educational institutions and ceramics groups. In response to this interest, after I graduated with my MVA, I immediately enrolled in a Master of Philosophy by Research to further develop some of my printing techniques so that they could be easily incorporated into a multi-disciplinary academic framework. Continuing my research position at the IRF, I submitted a petition to conduct testing on the modification of the Encad inks to develop an injet ink that would survive a cone 10 firing. I knew that similar work had been done in the past but I was hoping to find a print solution for my 3D work, perhaps using Keraflex. The petition to run modified inks through the printer was accepted and I began a new body of research with Keraflex. Disappointingly, not long after, the ANU suffered major storm damage to the IRF which destroyed the Encad printer. I took a temporary leave of absence and continued my print research from my studio. Without the seemingly endless possibilities of the Encad printer, I returned to a simpler way of working and began to explore the potential of Keraflex more fully. As a ceramic sculptural material, Keraflex was the equivalent of my handmade sheets, which were flexible enough for me to be able to create complex 3D forms. However, my handmade sheets had to be manipulated wet and the process was messy. There was no way to print on them pre-manipulation. I did use custom made decals to my fired pieces. The decals were successful; however, areas of the folded form that could not be reached left gaps. Even though Keraflex needed to be soaked in water before modelling, it felt similar to a sheet of rubber when wet. It retained its shape during firing better than my handmade sheets. All I needed to find was a printing method that would remain during the short soaking process and pigments that would survive a cone 10 firing and I would have my research solution. I started working with a laser transfer technique that I had previously used with success on my 2D handmade sheets but I had not yet tried it on Keraflex. Knowing that the iron oxide laser transfer would survive a cone 10 firing, I hoped that the image would also survive being soaked in water so that I could then manipulate the Keraflex sheet after applying the transfer and was very excited when it did. Finally, I had found a way to print onto the sheet and then manipulate it. After firing, when held up to the light, the transferred image was visible through every layer of the 3D form. I decided to run a sheet of Keraflex directly through my laser printer. It jammed. I made adjustments for the thickness of the Keraflex, tried printing on the other side and it ran though without a hitch, achieving a perfect laser print. In hopeful anticipation, I soaked the printed Keraflex in water (trial and error determined the correct timing) and folded the sheets retaining a perfect image. I fired the pieces to cone ten and the result was a perfect direct laser printed 3D ceramic form and the print was photographic quality.
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Elated, I finally had what was a very simple answer to my initial research question. It is possible to create a 3D printed ceramic form, where the image is intrinsic to the form itself, using Keraflex. I was not able to go back to the IRF to resume my research. By the time it was up and running again, I was moving to the US. My research has uncovered a number of new 2D and 3D ceramic and print techniques that can be used on a variety of fired and unfired ceramic surfaces. However it was only with Keraflex that I was able develop my direct laser printing technique which allowed me to attain my initial goal and create work that would be impossible to achieve with any other ceramic medium. Graciela Olio Graciela Olio mastered the exacting traditional technique of Gum Bichromate utilizing Jim Bennetts recipe from chapter 7 of Paul Scotts 2002 book, Ceramic and Print. Olios photographic imagery is layered, soft, shadowy and painterly. After printing her imagery on the Keraflex sheets, she cuts and constructs the printed sheets using the Keraflex slurry to join the pieces together into intimate architectural forms before firing them. It is here that the Gum Bichromate process and the use of Keraflex work in perfect harmony. One of Keraflexs greatest strengths is its ability to withstand a cone 10 firing with a minimum of warping far less than one would expect from 0.5 mm or 1.0 mm thick porcelain sheets. This allows Olios technique of constructing her forms before firing, during which these static forms become so much more than the sum of their parts. Surface imagery and form seem to meld together as these delicate little buildings soften during the firing process. Olio explains, I started working with Keraflex in March 2009. I print on it using different ceramic-graphic methods, such as photoceramics with gum bichromate processes, direct transfer and ceramic decals. This material proves a good raw surface to print on and, once printed, it allows handling both when wet and dry so that the pieces can be constructed. I use photographs, drawings, magazine and newspaper imagery in the creation of my imagery. I modify the material in Photoshop and then print the image onto a transparency. I usually piece together the printed Keraflex sheets when the material is raw and dry with the Keraflex slurry. Generally, I use the large A3, 1.0 mm sheets because that thickness is a bit more resistant after firing. The printing technique that I prefer is the direct Gum Bichromate process. It relies on the selective hardening of colloids, pigments and either ammonium or potassium bichromate when exposed to ultraviolet light. To carry this out I have to prepare a light-sensitive emulsion, a mixture of a colloid such as glue, honey or egg, also ammonium or potassium bromide, ceramic pigment (underglaze, overglaze or oxides) and water. The toxicity of the ammonium and potassium bichromate must be taken into account. If, however, proper care is exercised they can be safely used. This is not a technique to be used with children. Once prepared, the emulsion is applied directly on the unfired, bisqued or glazed ceramic surfaces, with a soft paintbrush. When applied on to bisque or unfired surfaces, the surface must first be sealed with a thin coat of glue diluted in water. If I am using Keraflex, it is not necessary to seal it. Then the surface is exposed to light through a negative transparency in contact with the emulsion. The printing is developed by gentle brushing of the surface in cold water. Water washes away the emulsion from the unhardened, highlighted areas. In this way, the photographic image is printed and completely adhered to the surface. If a transparent glaze is to be applied, an initial firing should be made, at 1020-1040C so that the glue is eliminated,
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Graciela Olio. Top: Project South Home Series. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, ceramic pigment and glaze. 1260C. Centre: Project South Home Series. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, ceramic pigment, glaze and gold lustre. 1260C. Above: Project South HomeSeries. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, ceramic pigments and glaze. 1260C. All Graciela Olio photos by Hernn Cdola.

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Jenny Hodge. Top: Collapsed Casino. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, inkjet print dusted with underglaze powders. 18 x 18 cm. Above: House of Cards. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, inkjet print dusted with underglaze powders. 25 x 11 cm. Photos by Ken Hodge.

otherwise it will repel the glaze. At that temperature the image is not completely fixed, so you need to take care not to touch it. The work is then kiln fired according to the clay/glaze used. If Keraflex is used, then it must be fired to 1280C/2335F. Once the work is fully vitrified, even if glaze is not applied, the print will becomes unalterable and permanent. This process is one where no hard and fast rules apply and only experimentation will lead to good results. There are many variants including the ceramic colorants, the colloids, the emulsion coats, the exposure time, the light source and the negatives. Keraflex is an innovative material, very suited to the kind of work that I make both small and middle-sized pieces, sometimes assembled with other high-temperature clays and with graphic-ceramic prints. Jenny Hodge Like Kingston, Hodge also digitally modified the dusting on method used in the Gum Bichromate process, eliminating the use of the chemicals and processing technicalities. The difference between the two digital techniques is that Kingstons Gum Bichromate method is a direct inkjet print straight onto a fired or unfired ceramic surface using a flatbed printer. This results in a clear photographic image. Once printed, the pigments of choice are dusted straight onto the wet print and then fired to the correct temperature for the clay or if printed on a fired surface is simply refired to fix the particular pigments used. Hodges indirect technique adds an extra transfer step which does affect the image quality somewhat but the process does not require a flatbed printer. Drawing from traditional paper crafts and childrens construction books, her imagery combines drawing and photographs and she uses Photoshop to tie the imagery together. After printing, Hodge carefully cuts and constructs these 2D prints, joining them together with the Keraflex slurry and then she fires the construction. Her card houses are quite remarkable. These fragile flights of fancy again belie what we expect from such thin porcelain. These towers of cards soften from the uppermost point first, the gentle slip and slide of these playing cards is arrested mid-drift during the firing process. Frozen at the point of collapse. Although this indirect print transfer technique could be used on any unfired ceramic surface, in Hodges work, the strength of the Keraflex enables the construction of work that would otherwise be unlikely to survive a cone 10 firing. Happening to see an advertisement for Keraflex in 2009, the challenge of getting an inkjet print on to this medium became tantamount. Keraflex, with its sublime paper thinness, white sheerness and beauty was highly attractive. Hodge says, As I had come up with an innovative, interdisciplinary method of getting an inkjet print onto clay in 2008, Keraflex was a natural progression into an unknown world and upon receiving my first sheet of the product, decided to take it just as far as it could go. One of the most curious and interesting paradoxes contained in the properties of Keraflex lies in its ability to be both strong and yet fragile. Decisions must oscillate between structure and form when designing a piece, as mild slumping can occur, but permanence and translucency is a guarantee. The only equipment needed is the actual printer which must produce a very wet print. Modern, expensive printers are disadvantaged in that their heat rollers dry the print too quickly and a transfer is not possible. Preferred underglaze mixes will contain one part cobalt oxide to six parts under glaze as the oxide seems to penetrate the clay at a deeper level. My inkjet prints work only on flat, wet Keraflex which has been soaked in water. First, I print with an inkjet printer onto a transparency. Then this print
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is dusted with dry underglaze powders and as the colours meld with the wet inkjet inks on the transparency, they are easily transferred by placing the print face down onto the damp Keraflex sheet for two minutes. Keraflex impressively incorporates the print deep into its absorbent surface. The beauty of this new method is that it is visually immediate with a good print attainable on contact and mistakes easily rectified during the process. What begins its life as dry powder now is an integral part of the clay body exhibiting a translucence and beauty which extends beyond the paper print. Fine detail can be obtained on Keraflex and images can be reworked, redrawn and fired again. I only fire my Keraflex work once but it is possible to add under and overglaze colours for subsequent firings. Firing at the recommended temperature of 2335F/1280C in an electric kiln suits this inkjet print process well. At this temperature, underglazes are submerged into the paper thin clay and require no overglaze. Technical difficulties are few, the main one being the guarantee of a very wet print coming out of the printer and the other being the limitation of a flat printing surface but Keraflex bypasses this with its easy maneuverability and brilliant sculptural qualities. Keraflex sets a precedent in cuttingedge technology and embraces the inkjet print like a long lost lover. Conclusion Keraflex offers a challenge to artists who work outside the box and who are prepared to stretch the limits in every way possible to exploit the material fully. As more and more artists explore the potential of this medium within their own art practices, it has become apparent that we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what is achievable with Keraflex Porcelain. Keraflex has revealed itself to be an innovative ceramic material that bridges the divide between many different art media simultaneously. With Keraflexs unique printing and modelling characteristics, all three artists were able to surpass their initial goals. During this intensive body of research we mastered a number of digital print methods with many different ceramics applications for both fired and unfired clay surfaces. Most of the techniques described here could be used with other clay bodies both fired and unfired: Kingstons direct full colour inkjet printing method, Kingstons direct inkjet printed dusting on technique, Olios traditional photo-ceramic Gum Bichromate process, and Hodges indirect inkjet dusting on transfer method. However, it is with the development of Kingstons direct laserprint technique that Keraflex comes into its own. Although Keraflex may still be the new ceramic kid on the block, this groundbreaking new technique requires material capabilities that are unique to Keraflex itself. Therefore enabling print results that cannot be reproduced in any other ceramic medium, and with that, Keraflex has surely earned itself a permanent place in the annals of ceramics and printmaking.
Rachel Kingston has exhibited her work internationally in group and solo exhibitions. She has written two previous articles about Keraflex Porcelain and gives artist talks and demonstrations on her ceramic and print techniques. Her work is in numerous public and private collections. (rachelvkingston@gmail.com) Keraflex Porcelain is available in the US and Canada from www.keraflex.us, in Australia and New Zealand from www.keraflex.com.au.

Jenny Hodge. Paper Rhino. 2009. Keraflex Porcelain, inkjet print dusted with underglaze powders. 18 x 14 cm. Photo by Ken Hodge.

Three artists have all worked independently with the same complex technical goals to find or develop a method of digitally printing a photographic image on to a ceramic surface. To create a three dimensional form from that ceramic print without loss or distortion of the image and then to fire this printed clay form, successfully retaining the print quality. The end goal is a porcelain sculptural piece in which the photographic image is intrinsic to the form itself.

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