Welcome to the landing page for all things cold finishes!
First – what IS cold finish as it relates to ceramics? A cold finish is anything that is NOT glaze/underglaze. Only to be used for sculptural items – yes, jewelry can fall under this category. It is relegated for sculptural items ONLY because it is NOT food safe.
In this reference center section, you’ll find information about artists I’ve discovered who use cold finishes, information about the different kinds of cold finishes, as well as my own personal explorations and experiments into how to use them. In 2018 I was awarded a small grant by the Maine Arts Commission to further my cold finish investigation (thanks MAC!!) When I was first looking at using cold finishes in my sculptural work, I had a really hard time finding information about what to use and HOW to use it. Maybe I’ve been looking in all the wrong places (possible), but as a result of that arduous search, I became determined to create a resource page for all things cold finishes. My hope is that it helps others in their own creative endeavors.
Do YOU know of a ceramic artist who uses cold finishes that you think I need to add to my list? Or maybe there’s a finish that isn’t listed that you think needs to be included? Or even supplier information for different products…Send me a message and let me know!
To access the different types of information – click on the headers below and it will take you to the right page(s). For cold finish specific articles/explorations, you’ll see a set of tabs with names of all the mediums in my toolbox to explore (i.e. Acrylic Paint, Crayons, et al). Information and links to related posts will be in the respective tabs. Happy exploring!
Artists
Suppliers (coming soon)
Cold Finish Materials
Acrylic Paint
Encaustic Paint
House Paint
Oil Paint
Watercolor Paint
Acrylic Paint
This tab contains information about using acrylic paint as a cold finish medium.
Golden Fluid Acrylics (Liquitex gesso primer/ModPodge sealant)
Encaustic Paint
This tab contains information about using encaustic paint as a cold finish medium.
House Paint
This tab contains information about using various house paints as a cold finish medium.
Oil Paint
This tab contains information about using oil paint as a cold finish medium.
Watercolor Paint
This tab contains information about using watercolor paint as a cold finish medium.
Colored Pencils
Crayons
Dry Pastels
Markers
Oil Pastels
Colored Pencils
This tab contains information about using colored pencils as a cold finish medium.
Liqui-Mark Colored Pencils (Liquitex gesso primer/ModPodge sealant)
Crayons
This tab contains information about using crayons as a cold finish medium.
Dry Pastels
This tab contains information about using dry pastels (like Pan Pastels) as a cold finish medium.
Pan Pastels (Liquitex gesso primer/ModPodge sealant)
Markers
This tab contains information about using various markers as a cold finish medium.
Tombow Markers (Liquitex gesso primer/ModPodge sealant)
Oil Pastels
This tab contains information about using oil pastels as a cold finish medium.
Make Up
Metal Leaf
Pigment Powders
Shoe Polish
Make Up
This tab contains information about using over the counter make up as a cold finish medium.
Metal Leaf
This tab contains information about using various metal leaves (gold, silver, copper, etc) as a cold finish medium.
Pigment Powders
This tab contains information about using various pigment powders as a cold finish medium.
Shoe Polish
This tab contains information about using shoe polish as a cold finish medium.
Application Techniques (coming soon)
Under Construction. Check back for updates