Hand forming of ceramics - Joanna Swierczek

FASCINATION

Ceramics is a craft as old as the world. Already many thousands of years before our era, primitive people discovered the plastic properties of clay and appreciated its usefulness. From the time the first clay pot accidentally fell into a campfire, until today, people have been creating ceramic utility vessels as well as decorative objects.


Nowadays, when traditional pottery has been replaced by mass industrial production, ceramics have been the focus of artists, for whom the clay medium is a great means of artistic expression.

What is fascinating about ceramics is the ability to shape "new entities." As a result of the work, a three-dimensional tangible object is created, which previously existed only in the imagination. Art ceramics is the art of compromise between artistic vision and the limitations imposed by the medium. I always wonder if the clay will be able to bear my idea of the shaped object. Sometimes it does, even though it seems to defy the laws of physics, and sometimes, unfortunately, it doesn't... The fragile object crumbles into dust before I can put it in the kiln. But that's what's fun. "There's risk, there's fun..."



BUYING CLAY

Contrary to what you might think, it's not difficult to get started with ceramics. There are many stores for ceramists that sell ready-made ceramic masses, whether for hand modeling, molding on the wheel, or funnel masses used for casting. Available clays vary in their level of durability and permeability. Ceramic clays, come in a variety of colors from brick-red to a creamy white similar to porcelain. They are characterized by high brittleness and permeability, hence, after firing, ceramic vessels must necessarily undergo glazing, which seals them. The second type of clays are stoneware clays with a much higher degree of durability and the most durable porcelain (kaolin) clays, which undergo vitrification (vitrification) during the firing process. Thus, they are the most durable, impermeable to water and can be used to form objects with very thin walls. Unfortunately, porcelain is the most difficult to mold because it is very capricious. It does not like to be bent into curved forms, and during firing it can deform uncontrollably. So it's best to start with ceramic clay, choose the color according to your taste and be sure to ask the seller for a sample of the material after firing. The clay, which in its wet form has a graphite color after firing, turns 'ivory'. The wetter the clay, the easier it is to mold into a variety of fancy forms, but it is more difficult for it to stay upright. In contrast, the drier it is, the better it rolls out into flaps and upright, unfortunately, it then cracks more easily when you try to bend it. The degree of moisture in clay is best practiced by yourself.

WE ACQUIRE BASIC SKILLS

The most important, and simplest, skills with which we will be able to mold any object and shape are (i) modeling the clay - giving them the desired shape, (ii) rolling out the flaps and (iii) forming the rollers. Each of us used to stick figures out of plasticine as part of school assignments. So we know what such modeling, lob-rolling and rolling consists of. With the above skills and with the help of various tools (even such ordinary ones as a kitchen roller, knife or toothpick) you can conjure virtually anything out of clay. There is only one 'but', clay, unlike plasticine or modeling clay, cracks as it dries. At first, very fine, almost invisible scratches appear on the surface of the rolls or patches. When they are ignored, they transform into cracks, and then the whole 'sculpture' element falls off. It is not enough to mold the clay and wait for the result. The molded object must be honed until the clay solidifies without cracks. Delaying the drying process by wetting the surface of the object with water (preferably with a brush) also helps. When gluing the pieces of the sculpture together, remember to lubricate the glued surfaces with water or 'mud', created by diluting the basic clay from which you are forming the object. Let's also remember that the thinner the walls of the vessel, or the molded structure, the more difficult it will be to avoid 'annihilating' the creation before the work is completed. The more vertical our construction is, the more difficult it is to 'force' the clay into a 'nice posture', as wet clay bends to all sides and breaks uncontrollably. So to begin with, let's try to mold small and more static works.

Examples of works from raw clay.

Raw wet clay

Raw dry clay

FIRST FIRING - BISQUE....

When we start molding an object, the clay is very soft, plastic and wet. Under the heat of our hands, it gradually dries until we feel that our sculpture is rigid and stable, but still wet. In the jargon of ceramists, it is then said that the clay 'sets'. At this stage, you can stop smoothing and quietly leave the object to dry completely. As the clay dries, it turns lighter and lighter in color and shrinks. It is important to keep in mind this spontaneous change in size when planning and designing your work. Drying mercilessly exposes any shortcomings and imperfections, which it is essential to remove before the first firing, because after that it will no longer be possible. It is necessary to sand the object with sandpaper. This is the most risky operation. The dried clay is very brittle and can crumble into dust at the slightest touch, but sanding is really worth it, as it greatly improves the quality of our work.


After grinding, we place the object in a ceramic kiln and fire it to 'biscuit' in a special ceramic kiln, programmed for firing ceramics, which should be set to a temperature of about 1100 degrees Celsius.
After complete !!! cooling of the kiln, we take out our creation. It is no longer graphite. It has a beautiful ivory color, a matte surface and when tapped with, for example, a cutlery, it makes a sound similar to glass. It is also smaller by about 10% than a raw clay object, because it has shrunk again. An ornamental object can be left in this form, but a utilitarian object that is to come into contact with water must be further processed.

Examples of biscuit work.



SECOND FIRING - GLAZING

Amateur ceramics enthusiasts can easily buy ready-made glazes in all possible colors, in liquid and powder form. The seller will best choose the type of glaze suitable for the clay we use. For ceramic clay, I buy glaze in powder form, which I dilute with water and apply to the bisque object. The degree of dilution of the glaze depends on how it will behave on the surface of the bisque object, which is very dry and 'thirsty' for moisture, so it absorbs all the water from the diluted glaze, leaving the glass powder on the surface. It is necessary to check what consistency of glaze is most favorable and allows for the application of an optimal, even coating. There are three methods of glazing: by (i) pouring glaze, by (ii) dipping and by (iii) painting with a brush. The first two methods are used by ceramists glazing large quantities of vessels at once. It is then necessary to dilute a large amount of glaze in a sizable vessel. When one small figurine is formed, this method is uneconomical.
The glazing stage gave me the most trouble and unpleasant surprises, both at the stage of application and firing of the glazed objects I experimented with all three methods of glazing and decided to paint with a brush, because this way allows the greatest precision and control of the glazing process.

After applying the glaze and drying the object again, we fire it in a ceramic kiln at a temperature of about 1,300 degrees Celsius - 'sharply'- as ceramists say about firing glazed objects. Glazed objects can be removed from the kiln, after it has cooled completely. Impatience will be severely punished! A mesh of cracks will then appear on the surface of the porcelain object.

If you do not want to get the 'crackle' effect patiently wait 24 hours for the kiln to cool down. If, after removing the glazed items from the kiln, you discover defects, you can reapply a layer of glaze and fire it. When the glazed surface satisfies us, we can apply decorations to it.