Hi there!
I am here in the ceramics room a place where artists come to engage in an art form as old
as the stone age.
In this introductory video, I’m going to discuss a few basic ideas about ceramics,
the process of working with clay and pottery, how it can be heated up and fired in a kiln,
and then how glazes can be applied.
Perhaps some of you have had the chance to create ceramics firsthand, it’s a wonderful
art form and it continues to thrive to this very day.
Ok so when looking at the ceramic process,
one of the first things an artist must do when working with clay is remove all the air
pockets inside the clay.
You may not even be able to see the air pockets, but if they’re there, things might
explode in the kiln later on, so it’s an important to just go ahead and remove these air pockets in the first step. It’s a process called wedging.
Now to wedge your clay, you can throw or knead the clay by pressing down on it and rolling
out any possible air that may be inside.
Once you do that, you can start working with your form.
There are a few things to remember when working with clay.
One, you don’t want your clay to be too thick.
The thicker it is, the more likely for air to be trapped inside, so a typical rule of
thumb is that your clay should not be thicker than your thumb or no more than 1 inch.
But at the same time, clay can be fragile and thin parts can break, so you also don’t
want your clay forms to be thinner than about a quarter of an inch.
So those are important things to keep in mind.
As you are working with clay, if you need to attach two separate pieces, you actually
have to create a rough surface at the attachment points of both pieces.
This is called scoring and you can score your clay by scratching into both sides, adding
a bit of water and then attaching the pieces.
This will help interlock the forms together and will prevent detachment later on.
Throughout the process, it’s important that you keep your clay moist.
You don’t want it to dry out and be forced to start all over.
Now, if you want to work on your project over multiple sessions, you can prevent your project
from drying out by wrapping it in a moist paper towel and then covering it in a plastic
bag.
This will help keep the air out and hopefully keep your clay moist, allowing you to pick
back up where you left off.
When an artist is completed with their project, they will need to let it dry out until it
reaches bone dry status, which can take about a week.
And then, when the clay is dry, it can then be put into a kiln.
A kiln is special kind of oven that fires or heats up things like pottery.
A lot of artists now use computerized kilns, which allow them the convenience to be able to select
their firing temperature and walk away.
Heat temperature of kilns are measured in units called cones.
Ceramics can be fired at various cone temperatures, depending on the type of clay used and the desired
effects.
When clay is heated at a low-fire, the kiln is heated up to around 1900 degrees whereas
a kiln at high-fire heat gets up to 2300 degrees.
After the clay is fired and cooled, it is ready to be glazed.
A glaze is like a liquid glass that can give color to the ceramic piece, and it can be
matte or shiny.
Most glazes require several coats and do not look like its intended color upon application,
and so artists need to keep this in mind.
Once a piece is glazed and fired again in the kiln, a chemical reaction takes place
and turns the glaze into its final color.
So there you have it.
Those are just some of the basics of hand-building with clay and the ceramic process.
I know we didn’t get into throwing pots on the wheel and other aspects
of ceramics, but I hope that this has provided just a little bit of insight into the process of
this very rich tradition and art form that continues to thrive today.
We'll see you next time!