Expert: Leisha Hiester - 1/17/2009

Question
Hi,  I recently purchased a 2 ceramic mugs at an event & had them signed.  I used 1 of them & the ink that the signature was written in washed off immediately.  The 2nd mug was going to be a gift for someone.  Is there any glaze or anything that I can do at home to preserve the signature so that the gift can be used?

Answer
Robert,
Did you have them signed by the artist? I use a solvent ink so that it stays on. Is it signed on the bottom on raw clay or on the glazed part? If it's a water soluble ink, I'm not sure what you can do other than not wash it. You could try to seal it with a spray, but then eventually that may peel away if it's over glaze. Let me know and I'll try to help further. Leisha