Well, true to my predictions, I've become underglaze crazy. In fact, I'm trying to switch from my Mason Stains in slip to Amaco Velvet Underglazes for most of my work calling for that type of application. But this switch has not been without its issues.

For one thing, I still get some fading with many of the colors. I've now printed out a color variations chart for them, indicating what they will do  at cone 5 glazed and unglazed (and cone 10, though I don't think I'll see cone 10 for quite a while).

Another issue I'm having is watching the colors fade away under my clear glaze overcoat. I think I'm going to try thinning the glaze a bit before applying it. The thickness creates a milkiness, obscuring the color beneath.

Finally, I've had the underglaze run under the clear glaze on a vertical surface. This is NOT a good thing, considering most of my work is vertical (mugs). Again, I think it's a function of the thickness of the applied clear glaze. I've applied a thinner coat on my latest mugs. We'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, let me share one of my successes -- since not everything is doom and gloom. The following is an Apples and Honey set for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana), coming up the evening of Sept. 8, 2010. We eat apples dipped in honey to symbolize our wish for a sweet year.