Welcome back to CERAMICS 1 2 Todays Outline

Welcome back to CERAMICS 1 & 2

Today’s Outline Room tour (TAKE NOTES!) Stages of Clay Firing Stages of Clay Wedging Clay Success Rates (will my work survive the elements? ) Recycling Clay How to look at Ceramics Take home article: Peter Christian Johnson or Saskia Detering

Room Tour Wheel area with cabinet space and tools Studio workspace and cabinets and tools Window space Bisque and glaze shelves Clay mixing area Glaze area Kiln Room and firing temperatures

Stages of Clay Slip Plastic Leather Hard Greenware (Bone dry) Bisqueware Stoneware or Glazed Product

Stages of Clay Slip • The elements and components of clay with excessive water. Can be poured and has the consistency of really thick soup. • Used to cast objects in plaster molds or during the scoring process

Stages of Clay Plastic • Clay body is unstable, very moldable, and has excessive water still • Best example: clay on the wheel, pulled handles for cups, or recycled clay

Stages of Clay Leather hard • • • Feels like smooth leather Clay body is stable, but still slightly malleable Ideal for slab building, trimming a foot on a bowl or pot Slipping and scoring additional pieces can happen at this process Sgraffito (drawing on clay) can happen at this stage

Stages of Clay Bone Dry (Greenware) • • • Clay is completely dry Extremely fragile and could break easily Nothing can really be done to your piece at this point. Clay must be bone dry before being recycled!! Ready to be Bisqued

Stages of Clay Bisqueware • • • Clay has gone through a Cone 06 firing process Is more durable than Greenware, but not by much Water has evaporated from the clay body (vitrified) Has a pinkish hue Ready to be glazed!

Stages of Clay Stoneware • • Stoneware is the name of the clay we are using Our clay is fired at Cone 10 (About 2381 degrees Farenheit). A lot of shrinking has taken place, so your piece will be smaller Food safe (Depending on the glaze!)

Firing Clay 1. Bisque Fire 2. Glaze Fire

Firing Clay • • Once Greenware is Bonedry, it goes in the kiln We fire at Cone 06 (1830 degrees Farenheit) Art can be stacked or placed inside one another during a bisque firing We’ll talk about stacking and temperature schedules on our fist bisque fire.

Firing Clay • Open kiln during the bisque fire. • This firing was opened at about Cone 06 • Not a good idea to open kiln after it’s reached 1, 000 degrees. • Extremely hot • Can crack artwork

Firing Clay • Bisquare is ready to glaze • We’ll talk more about glazes when the time comes

Firing Clay • After glazing our work, we load it into the gas kiln • The advantages to gas kiln glazing, is greater control over the atmosphere inside the kiln. • There are 3 types of firing (reduction, neutral, and oxidization) • We only do reduction firings in this course • Oxidation: an abundance of oxygen in the kiln atmosphere • Reduction: an abundance of carbon in the kiln atmosphere • Basically, we’re reducing oxygen.

Firing Clay Object during cone 10 glazing

Firing Clay

Wedging Demo Wedging removes air from the clay body Removal of air bubbles is important, so your work doesn’t crack or explode in the kiln!

Success Rates

Success Rates The survival of your piece depends on how well you take care of it. It cannot contain: air bubbles, cracks, super thin or thick walls Thin walls will crack Thick walls will explode in the kiln! Wall sizes should be 1/8 to 1/4 inch. 1/2 at the most for large pieces. Not all pieces will survive, that’s why it’s important to make multiples

Success Rates Manufacture success rates are above 90% Little room for error Professional Artists are about 50 -75% Mine: about 50 -70% or 50 out of every 90 – 100 pieces made I experiment A LOT Your rates: likely 25 -70% It all depends on how well you construct and take care of your work!

Recycling Clay Demo • Clay in this form is called “Reclaim” • Needs to be mixed with dry clay and ran through pug mill to use again • Do not put leather hard clay in reclaim bucket! • Let clay get bone dry before putting in this bucket!

How to look at and critique VS

Elements of Art Line : a mark made with length and direction. Shape : a two-dimensional area that defines and establishes contour. Form : the quality of being three-dimensional. Space : that which is around and between shapes and forms. Value : the degree of lightness and darkness. Color : the response of vision to wavelengths of light; the presence of pigment. Texture : the quality of a surface, actual or implied.

Principles of Art Unity : quality of visual wholeness or oneness. Contrast : a sharp difference of size, shape, color, value, or texture. Variety : using diversity to create interest. Emphasis : stressing or calling attention to some part of an artwork, creating a focal point. Movement : using the elements of art to direct the eye through a composition. Balance : equal visual weight. Pattern/Repetition : the use of an element of art more than once. Rhythm : repetition of visual movement.

How to look at and critique VS

How to look at and critique