It can be overwhelming due to weight or because it’s oddly shaped. In this post I’ll discuss my techniques to help you improve you home decor style.
Please not I am not talking about ceramic title. Hanging or mounting ceramic tile is something entirely different than hanging ceramic artwork. Also, this article does not discuss hanging plates.
If you want to know all my best tips on hanging plates then you should read my fantastic page on this site called: Tips On How To Hang Your Plates.
Did you know that wall hanging plates are once again a popular fashion accessory? The answer is, yes, they’ve returned as a trendy design trend, and they’re one of the finest ways to bring color and pattern into your favorite room….
While you are here be sure to check out modern berry wall decor and nature wall decor art on Artabys. Also, I would like to mention is I always have a hard time hanging wall art. I never can hang my art or pictures perfectly level and straight. That’s why I love “The Hang It Perfect picture hanging tool“. Its a versatile tool that can be used to hang a variety of objects on the wall, including pictures, mirrors, shelves, and cabinets. It is a great option for people like me who want to hang pictures perfectly level and straight without having to measure or mark the wall.
My Ideas on hanging ceramic wall art
Let’s go over some of my ideas regarding hanging ceramic wall art like a professional designer. I am a ceramic artist with decades of experience creating clay wall art. In this article, I will tell you my secrets on how I hang any most any type of clay wall decor perfectly every time.
Once you know my secret you will be amazed on how easy it is and how perfectly your wall decor will look. Your friends will be amazed at the ceramic wall art gallery hanging on your wall.
How to Display Ceramic Art on a Wall
When hanging ceramic art on the wall, find a stud in the wall. To be safe when hanging ceramic art, use one fourth of the wall anchor’s stated weight. If there is no stud, then remember 5/8 inch sheetrock, which is common for residential homes, & holds 40 pounds of weight. Never use fishing line to hang ceramic art. I use OOK wall anchors & 6 strand galvanized wire to hand my ceramic art.
My Tips How to Hang Clay Wall Art
It’s not surprising that hanging handmade clay art can be overwhelming and extremely difficult. After all clay is heavy and it’s fragile so figuring it out can be overwhelming. In addition, many of the art pieces are oddly shaped and present an even bigger challenge getting it to the wall. I have tried many techniques and some are better than others and some just fail. Some methods work much better than others. I will not discuss the ones that failed. I will only discuss the ones that I have used and have had success with using. There are too many failures to discuss in one article.
Obviously you cannot hang a gigantic clay piece weighing hundreds of pounds on the wall without considerable amount of planning, design and special construction.
The art pieces I will discuss hanging on the wall in this article are ones you can hold in your hand. These are not too heavy that would cause problems for the sheet rock walls.
Most common Sheetrock wall thickness for homes are between half inch and 5/8 inch wallboard. The most common industry standard for home construction is half inch thickness. So this means you can easily mount ceramic art in your dining room, living room or most any room.
The ideal ceramic art you wish to hang should not be more than forty pounds. If you are attempting to hang more than forty pounds then most likely you will need to do special planning, design and construction to get your wall art mounted. This article is not for you. the reason I mention weight limit is to prevent your artwork come coming down and crashing to the floor. Do everything you can to prevent damage.
Handmade Ceramic Fish Wall Art – Colorful ceramic fish wall hanging.
Bathroom décor with fish that is unique. Finding the right fish décor for your bathroom may be difficult. The majority of bathroom fish décor is blue and aqua in hue. A more colorful fish design approach might sometimes be more effective. Bathroom art and décor that is unique and not restricted to two or three colors appeals to me. When it comes to fish bathroom décor, versatility is key.
What Are The 3 Types Of Ceramics? – Ceramic or pottery may be divided into three categories: Earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain.
This article is written for the majority of folks who are homeowners who purchased ceramic art that is less than forty pounds and can be held in one hand without straining. I am not talking about homeowners who have Hercules arms.
Before mounting any of you artwork to the wall make sure to measure each piece and make sure your entire group of art is level. You want to layout the entire group of art before hanging. I like to measure twice if necessary to make sure I get it right the first time. Who wants a bunch of necessary holes in their wall right? To make things simpler to just think of it as you are hanging glass picture frames.
I find it easy to layout a group of artwork using painters tape. It comes off the wall easily without taking off any paint. I mark each artwork on the wall with painters tape then measure to make sure the bottom of each wall decoration is level.
Another tip is if you have a lot of artwork to hang and do not like working on the wall, sometimes I find it easier to layout everything on the floor first. After which I will transfer to the wall. I do this easily by using craft paper that comes in rolls. Craft paper comes in rolls of 175 feet long by 18 inches wide. I layout enough paper on the floor making sure I have enough space, tape together as necessary, then layout my artwork on top of the paper. After I am satisfied of the arrangement I mark each item on the paper then transfer to the wall. A roll of craft paper is usually less then $20. If you do not have any craft paper you can use the back of some old Christmas, Birthday or other wrapping paper.
Handmade Clay Wall Hanging Rules
Before you go off and spend a fortune on materials and shop for tools like a drill, etc. ans other items on sale, lets investigate what is realistic to hang on a residential sheetrock wall. So, as I already said but it’s worth repeating again the typical thickness of residential sheetrock wall is half inch thick sheetrock. It’s important to know how much weight half inch sheetrock will support.
A twelve inch by twelve inch square of drywall typically can hold forty pounds of weight.
Now if you can find a stud behind the drywall then you could hang more weight. As always, finding a stud and getting into the support structure of the wall is the best. However, this is not always the case especially when hanging more than one clay art piece in a gallery configuration.
When hanging art on a wall it subject to the pull of gravity pulling the piece down and the weight of the piece. There are also forces pulling the piece outward from the wall.
To be safe, a general rule of thumb whatever wall anchors you use, use one fourth of their stated weight.
This way you can always be sure you are not overloading your wall anchor. So for example, if my wall anchor is rated for forty pounds I would hang at a maximum a ten pound clay art decor. The larger the wall anchor generally the more secure and more weight it can hold.
Ceramic Art Wall Hanging Anchors Types
My recommendation and what I use ninety nine percent of the time is a simple picture hanger.
However, I make sure not to use just any picture hanger. I always buy a new hanger and one that is weight rated. It has on the package how much weigh it can hold. And then as mentioned before I only use one fourth of the rated weight on the package.
The best picture hangers I have found are the OOK Picture Hangers. They are used in galleries, museums and homes worldwide.
If they are used in museums then they are good enough for me. I have been using OOK to hang my clay art for decades with no failures. You can find them at most hardware stores or online.
If you purchase my ceramic art it comes prewired and with an OOK picture hanger rated for the weight. You will be able to hang your artwork like a true professional.
Why OOK? Here is why. Sure I can find picture hangers for cheap but there is a reason. Most picture hangers are made of very low quality steel. The steel is low grade and will bend over time. I have clay art that has been hanging for years on OOK hangers with no bends. OOK wall hangers are at least twenty percent stronger than regular hangers. They are designed and bent in such a way as to be stronger and last longer. Even their nails use better quality steel to resist sagging over time.
Number one tip NOT to do. You must avoid the temptation if you have a heavy clay artwork to hang to use multiple anchors to secure to the wall. Do not do this. If you have two picture hangers rated at twenty pounds by using them two of them you still only have twenty pounds not forty.
Another great hanger to use without needing any tools is the OOK Hercules thin wire hook. Just push into the wall and hang your artwork. It’s very convenient and eliminates the need for a hammer or nails.
This system works well.
Clay Art Wall Hanging How To
What do you do if you purchased art with no hangers built in? In this case you are going to have to build a way to hang your newly purchased art. However, as mentioned before if you purchased my art you will have no worries. All my ceramic art comes pre-wired with a hanger. It’s ready to mount. This comes in real handy for example if you are planning to hang a gallery. A good place to hang a gallery is in the bathroom.
A gallery of different sized fish hanging on the wall works well.
Building a mounting system is not that hard if you know what materials to buy. Many folks choose to mount their artwork to lumber. Wood is a great way to mount art because it comes in many different sizes and of course you can cut it to fit your exact length. You can also paint it to match any color.
Another big advantage of using wood is its very durable and can be purchased in a variety of surface textures. The mounting board can be nailed or glued together or can be fitted into odd angles if necessary. The back of the wood can even be cut to accept artwork which need to be recessed into the wood. The wood mounting board can easily have mounts nailed or screwed into the back ready for wire and hanging on the wall.
What Never To Do When Hanging Art
I always use wire and never use string or fishing line. And here is why. I guarantee over time string and fishing line will breakdown and break. It may take a year or so but it will. Even twenty pound fishing line will break.
Fishing line is not resistant to sun and light. Over time the line will become brittle and could break. To test, take some and lay it out in the sun.
After a month or some period of time you will see that it has become brittle and could break. Ask any professional bass fisherman how often do they change their line and why. Is this what you want holding your ceramic art to the wall?
The best wire to use is at least six strand galvanized hobby wire. You can get it in anywhere from twenty gauge to nine gauge. If you want to know what the best just ask a museum. They will tell you they use at least fifty pound framer wire. This is usually a stainless steel wire wrapped in a plastic coating. The coating protects your hands and also helps reinforce the wire.
The concept is the same as with the hooks. If you buy cheap steel you get cheap steel. If in doubt buy OOK. Sorry if this sounds like an OOK commercial but their products are what I use and have had no problems.
My Secret Of Mounting Clay To Wood
Most everyone’s first thought is to run down to the local hardware store and purchase Liquid Nails for projects. And you will be right for a while until it fails. It might be a while but it will fail.
I have found it just does not bond well to ceramic over time. I have no idea why but it fails, at least for me. It’s a great product and I use it all the time for projects just not my clay artwork. It’s great for molding and paneling. It has low order and is non-staining. But for some reason it does not hold well over a longer period of time to ceramic.
What I use is Loctite PL Premium 3X (Get my rating of 5 Stars for glue holding power). This stuff is gold when it comes to superior adhesion. And I use it on a flat surface. Gluing on a flat surface gives the glue more holding power.
Most popular online stores carry Loctite PL Premium 3X so you can order online, so delivery is no problem. And if you are a member hopefully you can get free shipping. The reason I mention this is because I am a member of a popular online store so everything in my checkout cart gets free shipping. A tube usually runs less than $6.99 but if you have to pay shipping then you are looking at spending over $9.99.
It has held up much better in my art projects when I needed to glue ceramics to wood or ceramics to ceramics. It can be used for interior or exterior projects and they claim it is 3 times as strong. Which I have no doubt that it is. The cool thing about PL Premium is that it is waterproof and paintable. It even cures in cold or cooler temperatures. It’s not suitable for some applications so be sure to read the instructions before using. When using I always let it cure (glue need to be dry) for several days before attempting to let it hold any weight. I wear gloves and do not let it touch my skin. If I have to clean up I use mineral spirits in a well ventilated area usually outdoors.
But honestly the best solution is not to use anything thing at all. Look for hanging artwork decor with built-in loop holes.
The best option is ceramic decor in which the artist has pre-formed loops and or other hooks in the back of their artwork. This way the loops are fired into the piece and are very strong. This is the technique that I use in most if not all of my artwork. All that is needed is to use wire to form a loop to hang the clay art on the wall.
Hanging Ceramic Art Conclusions
I hope this article was of value to you. I know there are hundreds of special and unique situations in which art can be hung on the wall. I tried to cover the most important and most common aspects of hanging clay art. If you have advise you would like to share please send me an email and I can post your advice here to help others.
In short, don’t skimp on cheap hangers and wire. Always look for art where the artist has built-in loops in the back of their artwork. This makes mounting so much easier.
But if you are stuck and are forced to use glue be sure to check out Loctite PL Premium 3X. There may be other brands that work just as well but this is the brand that I have had great success with. Happy hanging!
References
Borstlap, H., & Saayman, M. (2016). Managing an art exhibition: more than just hanging art on walls. Journal of contemporary management, 13(1), 793-817. journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC195600
