The technique of majolica is basically “on-glaze” painting to create designs and images on the surface of ceramic objects. The objects, pots or sculptures, are generally (though not always) bisque-fired. Opaque white glaze is then applied to the bisque-ware. The majolica colors are painted directly on the dried, raw white glaze; then the piece is fired to the maturation point of the white glaze. Simple, it would seem, but there are many reasons why “majolica” decoration is considered exacting and difficult.

Hopefully this section will contain enough tips and tricks to help prevent the most common errors from occurring in your work.

After trying out the process a few times - even trying some copy work of the simplest of the renaissance majolica motifs, you will most likely develop a heightened appreciation for the labor that went into the creation of the beautiful renaissance ware seen in the “History” and “Cities” sections.