This blog has been created to share ideas about using clay in the classroom. The author, Debbie Qadri is a ceramic specialist who works in schools. ( amongst other things)
Thursday, September 25, 2014
resources, cool sites for other info and ideas about clay
here is a great site that has a never-ending slide show of the work of contemporary ceramic artists from around the world.
http://accessceramics.org/
Northcote Pottery runs ceramics workshops and can also tailor workshops to suit your needs, for groups, schools etc.
Their website has a number of information sheets about products and processes -
http://www.northcotepottery.com.au/tech-tipsproduct-info
http://accessceramics.org/
Northcote Pottery runs ceramics workshops and can also tailor workshops to suit your needs, for groups, schools etc.
Their website has a number of information sheets about products and processes -
http://www.northcotepottery.com.au/tech-tipsproduct-info
8 weeks crash course for primary aged kids
8 weeks crash course for kids plan
I have been taking 2 classes from Croxton Special School in ceramics on an 8 week course and I thought that I would outline the course and keep it as a resource. Its a crash course in the most important skills and students should come out of it with the confidence to be able to invent and make their own ceramics and a good understanding of building techniques. Each lesson goes for an hour.
lesson 1
pinch pots
Demonstrate pinch pot.
Give students clay each. Then demonstrate as everyone makes a pinch pot together.
Demonstrate adding textures and patterns to the pinch pot using stamps, a skewer, other tools
Later demonstrate how to roll a sausage and add the sausage to make a larger pot. Show how to add clay using scoring and slip.
tips: for students who dry out their clay by handling the clay too much, have a wet sponge sitting next to them, that they can wet their fingers on. This dampness transfers gradually to the clay, keeping it soft and pliable.
lesson2
Coils in moulds
Have a variety of moulds, plates, bowls etc.
Demonstrate how to roll sausages of clay.
break off a small piece and squish it into a basic sausage shape then begin to roll it. Roll with two hands on a flat board. Put pressure where the sausage needs to be thinner. Use sausages to line the mould. YOu can make patterns or a design with the sausages. Join sausages with your finger by scraping the clay across. Then use a kidney tool to make the surface smooth. Kidney tools can be made by cutting up icecream lids into shapes. ( good for people who lose their tools)
lesson3
Underglazing and glazing
lesson4
Faces - wall hanging
Demonstrate how to roll the clay out. When rolling clay, roll on a wooden board. Stand up so that you can more easily transfer your weight and strength towards rolling the clay. move the clay after each rolling, to make sure it doesn't stick tot he board. Only roll the clay a little less than a centimetre thick. I always tell students that it shouldn't be thinner than your pinky. ( The little finger on your hand, not your fat foot pinky).
Demonstrate how to join pices of clay using scoring and slip.
Add features to the face, such as eyes, nose etc.
Lift the face to make it 3D by stuffing some crumpled up newspaper underneath the slab of clay.
Add more features and holes for hanging.
Can be decorated with underglazes.
lesson5
Two pinch pots joined together to make a creature.
lesson6
more underglazing and glazing
lesson7
Making decisions about what to make.
Introduce students to the idea of thinking about what they want to make and working out how to do it.
Remind them of the things they have made and the techniques used to make them.
Remind them of how to join things using scoring and slip - demonstrate this again.
Discuss ideas of what students would like to make and how they could go about it.
students have a go.
lesson8
Finish off pieces - underglazing and glazing.
Options for ceramics classes
fish bowls with textures and coloured underglazes
I have made lots of leaves with kinder kids. Below is an example of one. It has just been made and is decorated with underglaze colours. Then it is bisque fired and glazed and fired again ( earthenware) to bring out the colours.
before painting it the children could make it bowl shaped by resting it in a support. ( a takeaway container and cloth)
Above photo from internet
Make Faces – with holes for hanging them
above: example of underglazes to decorate and a glaze firing
above photo from internet
above: example of clay face painted later with acrylic paint.
Above photo from internet
above: a slab of clay, two holes for hanging. Child has traced their hand onto the clay and added texture around it.
Above Photo from internet
another example of bisque fired work with oxides for decoration.
Terracotta clay with a black iron oxide.
Photo taken from internet.
Below: children holding up their artwork which is white clay with coloured underglaze decoration. This work has then been glazed and fired a second time.
above photo taken from the internet.
above: some hands that I did with Lincolnville kindergarten.
(everything shrinks when drying and in the kiln so the hands will become smaller)
I have been taking 2 classes from Croxton Special School in ceramics on an 8 week course and I thought that I would outline the course and keep it as a resource. Its a crash course in the most important skills and students should come out of it with the confidence to be able to invent and make their own ceramics and a good understanding of building techniques. Each lesson goes for an hour.
lesson 1
pinch pots
Demonstrate pinch pot.
Give students clay each. Then demonstrate as everyone makes a pinch pot together.
Demonstrate adding textures and patterns to the pinch pot using stamps, a skewer, other tools
Later demonstrate how to roll a sausage and add the sausage to make a larger pot. Show how to add clay using scoring and slip.
tips: for students who dry out their clay by handling the clay too much, have a wet sponge sitting next to them, that they can wet their fingers on. This dampness transfers gradually to the clay, keeping it soft and pliable.
lesson2
Coils in moulds
Have a variety of moulds, plates, bowls etc.
Demonstrate how to roll sausages of clay.
break off a small piece and squish it into a basic sausage shape then begin to roll it. Roll with two hands on a flat board. Put pressure where the sausage needs to be thinner. Use sausages to line the mould. YOu can make patterns or a design with the sausages. Join sausages with your finger by scraping the clay across. Then use a kidney tool to make the surface smooth. Kidney tools can be made by cutting up icecream lids into shapes. ( good for people who lose their tools)
lesson3
Underglazing and glazing
lesson4
Faces - wall hanging
Demonstrate how to roll the clay out. When rolling clay, roll on a wooden board. Stand up so that you can more easily transfer your weight and strength towards rolling the clay. move the clay after each rolling, to make sure it doesn't stick tot he board. Only roll the clay a little less than a centimetre thick. I always tell students that it shouldn't be thinner than your pinky. ( The little finger on your hand, not your fat foot pinky).
Demonstrate how to join pices of clay using scoring and slip.
Add features to the face, such as eyes, nose etc.
Lift the face to make it 3D by stuffing some crumpled up newspaper underneath the slab of clay.
Add more features and holes for hanging.
Can be decorated with underglazes.
lesson5
Two pinch pots joined together to make a creature.
lesson6
more underglazing and glazing
lesson7
Making decisions about what to make.
Introduce students to the idea of thinking about what they want to make and working out how to do it.
Remind them of the things they have made and the techniques used to make them.
Remind them of how to join things using scoring and slip - demonstrate this again.
Discuss ideas of what students would like to make and how they could go about it.
students have a go.
lesson8
Finish off pieces - underglazing and glazing.
Options for ceramics classes
fish bowls with textures and coloured underglazes
I have made lots of leaves with kinder kids. Below is an example of one. It has just been made and is decorated with underglaze colours. Then it is bisque fired and glazed and fired again ( earthenware) to bring out the colours.
before painting it the children could make it bowl shaped by resting it in a support. ( a takeaway container and cloth)
- 1. You could paint with coloured underglazes ( two firings and glaze needing to be painted on after the first firing, by northcote pottery employees.
- 2. Use clay only and concentrate on working on the textures of the leaf. Debbie to add oxide wash when the clay is a little dry. This can be fired once only. It would be a bisque-ware finish. I would recommend making it out of terracotta and using a black oxide or a white clay with brown iron oxide ( see photo below)
- 3. Make it out of clay only. After firing once, the children can paint their colours on with acrylic paint. This can be gloss spray varnished also ( by the kinder teachers, applied outdoors).
Above photo from internet
Make Faces – with holes for hanging them
- 1. The faces could be either underglazed with bright colours and then glazed. ‘
- 2. Or you could use coloured slips which gives different earth tones and bisque fire only ( matt finish)
- 3. Or the ceramics could be made with clay only concentrating on the texture and bisque fired, then the work could be painted with acrylic colours.
above: example of underglazes to decorate and a glaze firing
above photo from internet
above: example of clay face painted later with acrylic paint.
Above photo from internet
above: a slab of clay, two holes for hanging. Child has traced their hand onto the clay and added texture around it.
Above Photo from internet
another example of bisque fired work with oxides for decoration.
Terracotta clay with a black iron oxide.
Photo taken from internet.
Below: children holding up their artwork which is white clay with coloured underglaze decoration. This work has then been glazed and fired a second time.
above photo taken from the internet.
above: some hands that I did with Lincolnville kindergarten.
(everything shrinks when drying and in the kiln so the hands will become smaller)
Pre-school claywork
Pre-School clay in the classroom
Basic theoretical information about clay, ceramic materials and the firing process:
In schools usually earthenware clay is used because it can be fired at a lower temperature. Earthenware clay comes in two main colours, white and terracotta. I think its good to use pre-school kids. They can mix and combine both clays in their constructions.
Its useful to let children know that clay is used to make cups, crockery, toilet bowls and many other things. Clay is just special mud, mud that has the ingredients in it that make it hold together well. If you dig about 30cm deep into the ground in Melbourne, chances are that you will find some. When we heat clay in a big oven called a kiln, it turns into a rock. It’s a bit like throwing your pot into a volcano. The kiln fires five times hotter than an oven.
How to manage clay storage and re-use
Always open your clay bag carefully by peeling off the tape. This bag is your best friend for storing clay.
After use, I get the children to thump the clay on their boards into cubes, 10x10cm square. The thumping process is very enjoyable for them, and it also pushes out the air bubbles. Then the clay is put into its original bag with a damp cloth and the edge folded over and stored out of sunlight. The damp cloth allows the damp to spread evenly through the clay. Two days later the clay is usually ready for re-use. Terracotta takes a little longer to re-dampen. Do not squash a thumbhole into the clay, as this adds to the chances of getting air bubbles in the children’s work.
If you store your clay this way there is no need for kneading the clay, just pull out the cubes, pass one to each child and play again.
Firing the work and alternatives to traditional ceramic finishing methods
Clay is usually fired twice; the first firing is called Bisque - 1000 C degrees
The second firing is called the glaze firing and in earthenware it goes to a temperature of 1060 – 1080C.
Most work that blows up in the kiln is due to not being dried enough. Clay work needs to be dried thoroughly before firing.
If you don’t have access to a kiln, it is easier to fire the work once, to bisque temperature. This gives you a biscuit finish like a terracotta pot. Children can decorate terracotta at its raw stage with white slip or blue underglaze and it will look quite good with only a biscuit fire. Otherwise many teachers biscuit fire the work and then let the children paint it with acrylic or tempera paint. The work can also be sprayed with a clear gloss spray paint (outside, and wearing a face mask) to give it a glossy finish.
Managing the activity in the classroom and cleaning up
When I run workshops I usually cover the table with newspaper, as it absorbs spills and can be easily be disposed of by folding inwards and placing in the bin. Children are given boards (about 20x20 cm) to work on which are porous, so that the clay does not stick to them. ( Masonite, plywood, plaster board, particle board, mdf) Board is very cheap at the hardware store and can be very easily sawn.
A variety of tools can be used, ones specially made for ceramics, mixed with things such as forks, blunt knives, garlic crushers, rolling pins, gum nuts and seed pods, icy pole sticks and textures.
Slip is also good for joining things with, and also painting onto clay.
Health and Safety:
Clay dust is not good for your respiratory system. It is not good to eat either, as it may some bacteria in it.
Activity 1: Slab-built bowl with leaf textures
How to make the slab bowl, imprinting textures. What to use for a mould. Decoration with oxides
You will need:
Plastic bowls, cloths, leaves, textured material, rolling pins, oxides, soft paintbrushes. Water jars.
Roll out the clay about 1 cm thick (as thick as your pinkie)
Roll on textures
Place cloth over bowl, place clay slab over top of cloth and arrange into bowl.
Activity 2: rolling coils – coil made tree
Coils can be called sausages. Coils should be rolled with two hands and fingers splayed out to support the coil as you roll it. Coils can be joined together without slip if the clay is soft and the clay is blended over the join, otherwise, slip needs to be used.
Using slips and oxides to decorate.
Building with coils – bowls and houses.
Activity 3: dioramas. Installation activities
This session will explore ideas for group dioramas or installations where all the children will make a part of a larger artwork.
Activity 4: Low relief sculpture tiles or hanging plaques.
Methods of joining clay and building pictures on slabs.
Slabs should always be rolled out about 1cm thick and no thinner, so that they are strong. When demonstrating rolling a slab, it is very important to lift the slab after each attempt at rolling. Roll and lift, roll and lift. As when the slab is rolled it often sticks to the board, if children do not lift the slab, they will make rolling more difficult as they will only be dragging the top layer of clay across the board.
Change directions when rolling to get a more even slab.
They should be dried slowly, on their boards piled up about 4 high with a board on top of the top one.. A double sheet of newspaper on top of each work will protect it and aid with the drying.
Activity 5: Stamps and stamping,
making wind chimes. – Wind chimes, are a great activity. The children can try to make beads and bells and put a hole in them so that they can hang them. They can be decorated with white slip and alice blue underglaze, then they only need to be bisque fired. Or you can bisque fire them and then paint them.
Children also enjoy rolling out clay and cutting it with cookie cutters. They can use a knitting needle ( safer than skewers) to pierce a hole in the shape.
Other materials can be used in the wind-chime construction process, such as driftwood, raffia, buttons and shells.
Activity 6: Pinch pots
Decoration with decorating slip and blue underglazes – a useful combination that will give a good result for one firing.
How to make a pinch pot: make a ball of clay by cupping your clay from one hand to the other. Alternatively you may squeeze it into a ball shape or roll it.
Put your thumb in the middle like little Jack Horner did. Ideally the hole has to go in leaving a centimetre at the bottom. Begin to pinch the wall and turn the pot. Pinch and turn is an important refrain for making the children understand that it is a slow process of pinching and turning the pot until it becomes bigger and thinner.
For more information about clay products and processes please see the information sheets at Northcote pottery’s website. Just google Northcote pottery, open the website and on the left hand side choose the page - Tech tips/product info.
For information, tips and links to sites about using clay in the classroom, Debbie’s wikispace might be useful :http://ceramicsclass.wikispaces.com/
Basic theoretical information about clay, ceramic materials and the firing process:
In schools usually earthenware clay is used because it can be fired at a lower temperature. Earthenware clay comes in two main colours, white and terracotta. I think its good to use pre-school kids. They can mix and combine both clays in their constructions.
Its useful to let children know that clay is used to make cups, crockery, toilet bowls and many other things. Clay is just special mud, mud that has the ingredients in it that make it hold together well. If you dig about 30cm deep into the ground in Melbourne, chances are that you will find some. When we heat clay in a big oven called a kiln, it turns into a rock. It’s a bit like throwing your pot into a volcano. The kiln fires five times hotter than an oven.
How to manage clay storage and re-use
Always open your clay bag carefully by peeling off the tape. This bag is your best friend for storing clay.
After use, I get the children to thump the clay on their boards into cubes, 10x10cm square. The thumping process is very enjoyable for them, and it also pushes out the air bubbles. Then the clay is put into its original bag with a damp cloth and the edge folded over and stored out of sunlight. The damp cloth allows the damp to spread evenly through the clay. Two days later the clay is usually ready for re-use. Terracotta takes a little longer to re-dampen. Do not squash a thumbhole into the clay, as this adds to the chances of getting air bubbles in the children’s work.
If you store your clay this way there is no need for kneading the clay, just pull out the cubes, pass one to each child and play again.
Firing the work and alternatives to traditional ceramic finishing methods
Clay is usually fired twice; the first firing is called Bisque - 1000 C degrees
The second firing is called the glaze firing and in earthenware it goes to a temperature of 1060 – 1080C.
Most work that blows up in the kiln is due to not being dried enough. Clay work needs to be dried thoroughly before firing.
If you don’t have access to a kiln, it is easier to fire the work once, to bisque temperature. This gives you a biscuit finish like a terracotta pot. Children can decorate terracotta at its raw stage with white slip or blue underglaze and it will look quite good with only a biscuit fire. Otherwise many teachers biscuit fire the work and then let the children paint it with acrylic or tempera paint. The work can also be sprayed with a clear gloss spray paint (outside, and wearing a face mask) to give it a glossy finish.
Managing the activity in the classroom and cleaning up
When I run workshops I usually cover the table with newspaper, as it absorbs spills and can be easily be disposed of by folding inwards and placing in the bin. Children are given boards (about 20x20 cm) to work on which are porous, so that the clay does not stick to them. ( Masonite, plywood, plaster board, particle board, mdf) Board is very cheap at the hardware store and can be very easily sawn.
A variety of tools can be used, ones specially made for ceramics, mixed with things such as forks, blunt knives, garlic crushers, rolling pins, gum nuts and seed pods, icy pole sticks and textures.
Slip is also good for joining things with, and also painting onto clay.
Health and Safety:
Clay dust is not good for your respiratory system. It is not good to eat either, as it may some bacteria in it.
Activity 1: Slab-built bowl with leaf textures
How to make the slab bowl, imprinting textures. What to use for a mould. Decoration with oxides
You will need:
Plastic bowls, cloths, leaves, textured material, rolling pins, oxides, soft paintbrushes. Water jars.
Roll out the clay about 1 cm thick (as thick as your pinkie)
Roll on textures
Place cloth over bowl, place clay slab over top of cloth and arrange into bowl.
Activity 2: rolling coils – coil made tree
Coils can be called sausages. Coils should be rolled with two hands and fingers splayed out to support the coil as you roll it. Coils can be joined together without slip if the clay is soft and the clay is blended over the join, otherwise, slip needs to be used.
Using slips and oxides to decorate.
Building with coils – bowls and houses.
Activity 3: dioramas. Installation activities
This session will explore ideas for group dioramas or installations where all the children will make a part of a larger artwork.
Activity 4: Low relief sculpture tiles or hanging plaques.
Methods of joining clay and building pictures on slabs.
Slabs should always be rolled out about 1cm thick and no thinner, so that they are strong. When demonstrating rolling a slab, it is very important to lift the slab after each attempt at rolling. Roll and lift, roll and lift. As when the slab is rolled it often sticks to the board, if children do not lift the slab, they will make rolling more difficult as they will only be dragging the top layer of clay across the board.
Change directions when rolling to get a more even slab.
They should be dried slowly, on their boards piled up about 4 high with a board on top of the top one.. A double sheet of newspaper on top of each work will protect it and aid with the drying.
Activity 5: Stamps and stamping,
making wind chimes. – Wind chimes, are a great activity. The children can try to make beads and bells and put a hole in them so that they can hang them. They can be decorated with white slip and alice blue underglaze, then they only need to be bisque fired. Or you can bisque fire them and then paint them.
Children also enjoy rolling out clay and cutting it with cookie cutters. They can use a knitting needle ( safer than skewers) to pierce a hole in the shape.
Other materials can be used in the wind-chime construction process, such as driftwood, raffia, buttons and shells.
Activity 6: Pinch pots
Decoration with decorating slip and blue underglazes – a useful combination that will give a good result for one firing.
How to make a pinch pot: make a ball of clay by cupping your clay from one hand to the other. Alternatively you may squeeze it into a ball shape or roll it.
Put your thumb in the middle like little Jack Horner did. Ideally the hole has to go in leaving a centimetre at the bottom. Begin to pinch the wall and turn the pot. Pinch and turn is an important refrain for making the children understand that it is a slow process of pinching and turning the pot until it becomes bigger and thinner.
For more information about clay products and processes please see the information sheets at Northcote pottery’s website. Just google Northcote pottery, open the website and on the left hand side choose the page - Tech tips/product info.
For information, tips and links to sites about using clay in the classroom, Debbie’s wikispace might be useful :http://ceramicsclass.wikispaces.com/
handbuilding animals with clay
Here are some hints and tips about hand-building clay animals
Freestyle slab method ( good for animals that don't have legs or are stylised so they dont have separate legs. - e.g. chicken fish, bird)
In this method you roll out two slabs about one centimetre thick each. I use terracotta or white earthenware handbuilding clay.
On one slab draw the shape of your animal.
Cut it out using a needle tool or skewer. ( with young children a knitting needle can be used for this, or you can cut it for them)
Use the second slab to make the opposite shape. Lay the first slab (cut to shape) over it and trace it with a skewer. Then cut it out.
you could use precut templates made from cardboard or plastic.
So you have two slabs that represent either side of your animal
Use slip and scoring around the edges of both shapes.
One shape is laid flat, good side down, slip and scoring added around the edges.
Place a small scrunched piece of newspaper in the centre.
Place second slab over top of it and beginjoin them together.
Join them a little all around except for the bottom which must be open. then stand the piece up.
Join all edges nicely and then hold the work carefully in your hands upside down to reinforce the base with a coil.
to
Two pinch Pots
- practice making pinch pots for the first lesson.
- make two pinch pots and jointhem with scoring and slip. Add a coil of soft clay around the outside and blend onto both sides to reinforce the join.
When adding legs etc, make sure that any addition is reinforced with a coil of soft clay around the join, well blended into each part. This will thoroughly join the two parts.
Coiling
Plan carefully for coil built animals.
sketches need to be made of what the animal will look like from all sides and perhaps a floor plan, which can then be used as a template.
draw and cut out template of the bottom of the animal.
Coils should always be a centimetre in diameter. They do not need to be joined with slip and scoring if the clay is soft and is blended to the coil above and below it as you build.
Coils should be added in a spiral, not a doughnut. The coil is blended in as it is added to the pot. Not even sat on top of the pot in a circle and then joined on. this causes wobbles in the pot building.
The artwork needs to be continually compared with the drawing to make sure it is being built to the correct shape.
Freestyle slab method ( good for animals that don't have legs or are stylised so they dont have separate legs. - e.g. chicken fish, bird)
 |
| freestyle method, fish with liquid underglaze decoration |
In this method you roll out two slabs about one centimetre thick each. I use terracotta or white earthenware handbuilding clay.
On one slab draw the shape of your animal.
Cut it out using a needle tool or skewer. ( with young children a knitting needle can be used for this, or you can cut it for them)
Use the second slab to make the opposite shape. Lay the first slab (cut to shape) over it and trace it with a skewer. Then cut it out.
you could use precut templates made from cardboard or plastic.
So you have two slabs that represent either side of your animal
Use slip and scoring around the edges of both shapes.
One shape is laid flat, good side down, slip and scoring added around the edges.
Place a small scrunched piece of newspaper in the centre.
Place second slab over top of it and beginjoin them together.
Join them a little all around except for the bottom which must be open. then stand the piece up.
Join all edges nicely and then hold the work carefully in your hands upside down to reinforce the base with a coil.
to
 |
| terracotta fish with red and orange glaze |
Two pinch Pots
- practice making pinch pots for the first lesson.
- make two pinch pots and jointhem with scoring and slip. Add a coil of soft clay around the outside and blend onto both sides to reinforce the join.
When adding legs etc, make sure that any addition is reinforced with a coil of soft clay around the join, well blended into each part. This will thoroughly join the two parts.
Coiling
Plan carefully for coil built animals.
sketches need to be made of what the animal will look like from all sides and perhaps a floor plan, which can then be used as a template.
draw and cut out template of the bottom of the animal.
Coils should always be a centimetre in diameter. They do not need to be joined with slip and scoring if the clay is soft and is blended to the coil above and below it as you build.
Coils should be added in a spiral, not a doughnut. The coil is blended in as it is added to the pot. Not even sat on top of the pot in a circle and then joined on. this causes wobbles in the pot building.
The artwork needs to be continually compared with the drawing to make sure it is being built to the correct shape.
firing the kiln
Usually at a school you only fire the kiln to earthenware temperature.
so you would buy an earthenware clay.
firing is not about baking,
Its about slowly bringing the clay up to the temperature required to change it into a rock.
It has to go slowly to allow the steam to escape and also if you go fast the heat shock can make things explode.
LIke if you put a hot thing into cold water it cracks.
WHAT TYPE of clay DO YOU HAVE????
this is VERY IMPORTANT
the firing temperature relates to the type of clay you are using.
And the glaze also has to match the clay and the firing temperature.
I always recommend using earthenware clays in schools. the colours of the glazes are much brighter and if you use underglazes, these colours also remain brighter.
In stoneware ( 1260) firings, some of the colours 'burn out'.
The process
There are two types of firings the first is called the bisque firing and the second firing is called the glaze firing.
Bisque relates to the first time you cook something - think biscuit. A bisque firing usually goes to 1000 celcius for both earthenware and stoneware clays.
The glaze firing is a bit like baked on icing, its for the decorating stage.
The glaze firing can go a little faster through its cycle because all of the stem has already been fired out of the clay, but still needs to go no more than 100celcius per hour. Earthenware glaze is usually fired to 1080 and stoneware glaze to 1260.
Again make sure you know what clay you are using. If you fire earthenware clay to stoneware temperature it will most likely melt onto your shelves and kiln shelves are expensive.
BISQUE FIRING
The bisque firing is where you fire the work for the first time.
The work goes as greenware (which means not fired yet)
It needs to be extremely dry. It should not be cold to touch and if you scrape the bottom with a fingernail it should come off as a dry dust.
It is VERY important that the work is dry as most explosions occur when it is not dry enough. Claywork exploding will damage your kiln.
Basically it gets cooked like a biscuit, becoming bisque or biscuit. It is fired to 1000 degrees farenheit.
Everyone has a different idea about the temperature cycle but this is the one that i use.
Earthenware bisque
Take the Kiln up 50 degrees per hour till the kiln reaches 700
Then take the kiln up 100 degrees per hour till it reaches 1000
The bungs should be out to allow the steam and moisture to escape the kiln.
GLAZE FIRING
Earthenware glaze
Take the kiln up 100 degrees per hour ( no faster) till the kiln reaches 1080
Then let it soak for an hour ( this allows the kiln temperature to be consistent everywhere.)
The bungs should be left in, as there is no longer any steam to escape, and to conserve the heat in the kiln and save energy.
NOrthcote Pottery have a tip sheet about firing
here is the link
http://www.northcotepotterysupplies.com.au/uploadedFiles/1359935598578-5180.pdf
so you would buy an earthenware clay.
firing is not about baking,
Its about slowly bringing the clay up to the temperature required to change it into a rock.
It has to go slowly to allow the steam to escape and also if you go fast the heat shock can make things explode.
LIke if you put a hot thing into cold water it cracks.
WHAT TYPE of clay DO YOU HAVE????
this is VERY IMPORTANT
the firing temperature relates to the type of clay you are using.
And the glaze also has to match the clay and the firing temperature.
I always recommend using earthenware clays in schools. the colours of the glazes are much brighter and if you use underglazes, these colours also remain brighter.
In stoneware ( 1260) firings, some of the colours 'burn out'.
The process
There are two types of firings the first is called the bisque firing and the second firing is called the glaze firing.
Bisque relates to the first time you cook something - think biscuit. A bisque firing usually goes to 1000 celcius for both earthenware and stoneware clays.
The glaze firing is a bit like baked on icing, its for the decorating stage.
The glaze firing can go a little faster through its cycle because all of the stem has already been fired out of the clay, but still needs to go no more than 100celcius per hour. Earthenware glaze is usually fired to 1080 and stoneware glaze to 1260.
Again make sure you know what clay you are using. If you fire earthenware clay to stoneware temperature it will most likely melt onto your shelves and kiln shelves are expensive.
BISQUE FIRING
The bisque firing is where you fire the work for the first time.
The work goes as greenware (which means not fired yet)
It needs to be extremely dry. It should not be cold to touch and if you scrape the bottom with a fingernail it should come off as a dry dust.
It is VERY important that the work is dry as most explosions occur when it is not dry enough. Claywork exploding will damage your kiln.
Basically it gets cooked like a biscuit, becoming bisque or biscuit. It is fired to 1000 degrees farenheit.
Everyone has a different idea about the temperature cycle but this is the one that i use.
Earthenware bisque
Take the Kiln up 50 degrees per hour till the kiln reaches 700
Then take the kiln up 100 degrees per hour till it reaches 1000
The bungs should be out to allow the steam and moisture to escape the kiln.
GLAZE FIRING
Earthenware glaze
Take the kiln up 100 degrees per hour ( no faster) till the kiln reaches 1080
Then let it soak for an hour ( this allows the kiln temperature to be consistent everywhere.)
The bungs should be left in, as there is no longer any steam to escape, and to conserve the heat in the kiln and save energy.
NOrthcote Pottery have a tip sheet about firing
here is the link
http://www.northcotepotterysupplies.com.au/uploadedFiles/1359935598578-5180.pdf
decorating techniques
Decoration Techniques
Underglaze
Underglaze was not used in schools when I was a kid, we just had a selection of brown, blue, black, clear and white glazes. UNderglazes have revolutionised the way we teach ceramics in schools. They are a cheap and reliable way of colouring ceramics and the way you put them onto the ceramics is similar to painting. The colours are similar to the finished product so students can get an idea of what it will look like after it is fired. Great detail can be achieved with patience and the right brushes. They can be thinnned down and used like watercolours or they can be used straight from the jar with up to three coats to make a strong opaque colour.
Underglazes can be applied while the clay is green, that is before the first firing, or they can be added to bisque fired work, covered in glaze and put into the glaze firing. They usually need a glaze coating to bring out their colours at earthenware temperatures.
there is an information sheet on underglazes ( no. 12) at the northcote pottery website:
http://www.northcotepottery.com.au/tech-tipsproduct-info
glaze
Glaze is basically a powdered raw glass that you mix with water and apply to your pot. When it gets to a certain temperature it turns to a clear glass.
Its not really that simple but I use this as a good way to explain it to children. Glaze also has many ingredients that do things like, make sure it doesn't run, make sure it sticks to the pot and makes a particular colour.
Glaze works differently on different clays.
You must be careful not to have any glaze in contact with your kiln shelf as the ceramic work will become glued to the shelf during the firing process. ( this ruins shelves which are expensive) It is a good idea to coat your shelves in Bat wash to help prevent the problem. And establish a rule that if children don't wipe their own bottoms they won't get fired. ( they might enjoy the metaphor)
Northcote Pottery has a fact/tip sheet on earthenware glazing, it is number 11.
http://www.northcotepottery.com.au/tech-tipsproduct-info
Here are two examples of an orange earthenware glaze on different clay bodies.
Using coloured Slips for Once fired work.
I used to make a lot of ceramics that was once fired earthenware which I decorated with coloured slips.
It is a good option for busy teachers who want their students to make something, that they will only have to fire once. The slips I use will keep nice colours if fired at earthenware temperatures, but these will change dramatically if fired to stoneware.
The following recipes and ideas are designed for earthenware clays and firing only.
At earthenware you have terracotta which fires orange, and white handbuilding clay which will fire a creamy wh
ite colour, so that's two colours to start with. You can make slips with these clays. The easiest method is to put dried clay into water and leave it for a while. Store in a sealed container.
A pink slip can be made by adding a little bit of red iron oxide to white slip.
You can make a grey slip with manganese dioxide and terracotta slip
A grey slip with manganese dioxide and white slip
a dark brown slip with red iron oxide and terracotta slip, or black iron oxide and terracotta slip
You can buy a very white decorating slip from Northcote Pottery cheaply or buy a very white clay such as porcelain and wet it down into slip.
I also use turquoise and alice blue underglazes from Northcote Pottery whenever I do this technique. these two underglaze colours look good when fired once only.
Painting onto bisque tiles
You can buy plain white bisque tiles at Northcote Pottery and I use them for ceramic murals.
They only need to be decorated and glazed and then placed into one firing (the glaze firing), to be completed.
A simple process for a good result.
see these websites for examples of the use of bisque tiles
http://reflectionsofstjohns.blogspot.com.au/
http://noahsarkatovernewton.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/fresh-out-of-kiln.html
The main concern is not to use liquid underglazes to thickly, or have any lumps of it as this will result in peeling and taking the glaze off as well.
You can prevent this by making sure that your underglazes are well-stirred and the right consistency ( thin cream, like you buy in the supermarket). Give clear instructions about not putting the underglazes on too thickly and only using three layers of underglaze at the most.
Check the tiles for any lumps of underglaze and scrape them off before applying the glaze.
Apply three layers of glaze and whack into the kiln.
Apply glaze carefully with a soft brush. Glaze should be brushed on softly and never re-brushed as it will begin to wet and smudge the painted design underneath. So one carefully applied brushstroke over each part of your tile. Leave it to dry, then apply the second coat. The second and third coat of glaze can be put on more rigorously as the glaze has a setting material in it that prevents it being easily washed off.
Majolica
In this technique, bisque fired earthenware, is coated with opaque white glaze and then colored overglaze decoration is applied. Historically the glaze was white and included tin to make it opaque.
the colors are brushed on top of the raw glaze.After the decoration is applied the piece is fired in the kiln.
Traditionally, in Italy, Portugal and Spain, potters use raw pigments such as cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, rutile, and antimony.
To the raw pigment one may add a little flux in the form of frit or talc. A little china clay or ball clay may be added to aid in suspension and adhesion. You could also add gum to make the surface more durable prior to firing.
You can use underglazes but modern majolica painters who do not use underglazes often rely upon commercially manufactured colors called "stains".
The direct nature of applying color through this brush technique has appeal because the fired result looks pretty close to way it was applied.
Here is a link to a video of a majolica artist using stencils to decorate a tile in majolica style.
http://www.oerth-tile-works.com/Majolica-Techniques.html
And a link to a site which has very technical but informative step by step instructions on how to do majolica. By Clay Cunningham, and demonstrations of the work of Posey Bacopoulos.
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/pottery-making-techniques/ceramic-glazing-techniques/the-magic-of-majolicamaiolica-how-to-create-vibrant-painterly-decoration-on-pottery/?floater=99
How to do it
Apply the base glaze ( white earthenware or white tin based) to earthenware bisque fired work. If you are brushing the glaze on, make sure you do the greater amount of coats. If the instructions say 1-3 coats, do three.
Make sure there is no glaze where the pot touches the kiln shelf, otherwise clean these areas.
Mix stain or underglaze with a frit or similar material to make a paste. The mixture should be frit 75% and colour 25 %.
Apply over the glaze and gradually work up your picture. Remember that the colour is weaker than pure stain or underglaze because it has been mixed with a frit so you may need to put it on thicker or in more layers.
Try: Spattering with a toothbrush, spraying with a squirt bottle, or dabbing with a crumpled rag .
Place in a kiln and fire to earthenware temperature.
Here are a few tips for designing and executing your composition by – Jake Allee ( a ceramics teacher in colarado)
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-glaze-recipes/low-fire-glaze-recipes/messing-with-majolica-an-instructor-shares-tips-for-learning-and-teaching-the-majolica-technique/?floater=99
Another technique that ceramics artists love, is to scratch-through the colour after it dries. Suppose you paint a leaf, for example. After the colour dries, you can scratch-through and draw veins for the leaves. The technique can be very beautiful and effective.
Other information re majolica
Then the desired decoration is painted on to the raw glaze base with glaze colours.
The manipulation of the brush and colours are of great importance.
The colours are transparent so the brush strokes of each coat of colour can be seen, one colour painted on top of another forms a third or forth colour.
The light usually comes from the left and to accentuate it, on this side a little of the white glaze base is not painted.
Shading can be the same colour painted with different intensities or two different colours that are over lapping, violet with dark brown, yellow with ochre and many others.
When fired the glaze base and colours fuse together, they integrate to form a smooth, vitrified and unbroken surface which gives depth and strength to the colours.
You can use carbon paper to apply your design or use a soft pencil.
Underglaze
Underglaze was not used in schools when I was a kid, we just had a selection of brown, blue, black, clear and white glazes. UNderglazes have revolutionised the way we teach ceramics in schools. They are a cheap and reliable way of colouring ceramics and the way you put them onto the ceramics is similar to painting. The colours are similar to the finished product so students can get an idea of what it will look like after it is fired. Great detail can be achieved with patience and the right brushes. They can be thinnned down and used like watercolours or they can be used straight from the jar with up to three coats to make a strong opaque colour.
Underglazes can be applied while the clay is green, that is before the first firing, or they can be added to bisque fired work, covered in glaze and put into the glaze firing. They usually need a glaze coating to bring out their colours at earthenware temperatures.
there is an information sheet on underglazes ( no. 12) at the northcote pottery website:
http://www.northcotepottery.com.au/tech-tipsproduct-info
|
| earthenware fish with yellow underglazes and other colours thinned and washed into the cracks. |
glaze
Glaze is basically a powdered raw glass that you mix with water and apply to your pot. When it gets to a certain temperature it turns to a clear glass.
Its not really that simple but I use this as a good way to explain it to children. Glaze also has many ingredients that do things like, make sure it doesn't run, make sure it sticks to the pot and makes a particular colour.
Glaze works differently on different clays.
You must be careful not to have any glaze in contact with your kiln shelf as the ceramic work will become glued to the shelf during the firing process. ( this ruins shelves which are expensive) It is a good idea to coat your shelves in Bat wash to help prevent the problem. And establish a rule that if children don't wipe their own bottoms they won't get fired. ( they might enjoy the metaphor)
Northcote Pottery has a fact/tip sheet on earthenware glazing, it is number 11.
http://www.northcotepottery.com.au/tech-tipsproduct-info
Here are two examples of an orange earthenware glaze on different clay bodies.
 |
| earthenware handbuilding caly with orange and rococo red glaze from Northcote pottery, many many layers of glaze applied. |
|
| terracotta fish with the same glazes. Note that the glaze has run a little, but I avoided putting it down the bottom of the fish. |
Using coloured Slips for Once fired work.
I used to make a lot of ceramics that was once fired earthenware which I decorated with coloured slips.
It is a good option for busy teachers who want their students to make something, that they will only have to fire once. The slips I use will keep nice colours if fired at earthenware temperatures, but these will change dramatically if fired to stoneware.
The following recipes and ideas are designed for earthenware clays and firing only.
At earthenware you have terracotta which fires orange, and white handbuilding clay which will fire a creamy wh
ite colour, so that's two colours to start with. You can make slips with these clays. The easiest method is to put dried clay into water and leave it for a while. Store in a sealed container.
A pink slip can be made by adding a little bit of red iron oxide to white slip.
You can make a grey slip with manganese dioxide and terracotta slip
A grey slip with manganese dioxide and white slip
a dark brown slip with red iron oxide and terracotta slip, or black iron oxide and terracotta slip
You can buy a very white decorating slip from Northcote Pottery cheaply or buy a very white clay such as porcelain and wet it down into slip.
I also use turquoise and alice blue underglazes from Northcote Pottery whenever I do this technique. these two underglaze colours look good when fired once only.
Painting onto bisque tiles
You can buy plain white bisque tiles at Northcote Pottery and I use them for ceramic murals.
They only need to be decorated and glazed and then placed into one firing (the glaze firing), to be completed.
A simple process for a good result.
see these websites for examples of the use of bisque tiles
http://reflectionsofstjohns.blogspot.com.au/
http://noahsarkatovernewton.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/fresh-out-of-kiln.html
The main concern is not to use liquid underglazes to thickly, or have any lumps of it as this will result in peeling and taking the glaze off as well.
You can prevent this by making sure that your underglazes are well-stirred and the right consistency ( thin cream, like you buy in the supermarket). Give clear instructions about not putting the underglazes on too thickly and only using three layers of underglaze at the most.
Check the tiles for any lumps of underglaze and scrape them off before applying the glaze.
Apply three layers of glaze and whack into the kiln.
Apply glaze carefully with a soft brush. Glaze should be brushed on softly and never re-brushed as it will begin to wet and smudge the painted design underneath. So one carefully applied brushstroke over each part of your tile. Leave it to dry, then apply the second coat. The second and third coat of glaze can be put on more rigorously as the glaze has a setting material in it that prevents it being easily washed off.
Majolica
In this technique, bisque fired earthenware, is coated with opaque white glaze and then colored overglaze decoration is applied. Historically the glaze was white and included tin to make it opaque.
the colors are brushed on top of the raw glaze.After the decoration is applied the piece is fired in the kiln.
Traditionally, in Italy, Portugal and Spain, potters use raw pigments such as cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, rutile, and antimony.
To the raw pigment one may add a little flux in the form of frit or talc. A little china clay or ball clay may be added to aid in suspension and adhesion. You could also add gum to make the surface more durable prior to firing.
You can use underglazes but modern majolica painters who do not use underglazes often rely upon commercially manufactured colors called "stains".
The direct nature of applying color through this brush technique has appeal because the fired result looks pretty close to way it was applied.
Here is a link to a video of a majolica artist using stencils to decorate a tile in majolica style.
http://www.oerth-tile-works.com/Majolica-Techniques.html
And a link to a site which has very technical but informative step by step instructions on how to do majolica. By Clay Cunningham, and demonstrations of the work of Posey Bacopoulos.
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/pottery-making-techniques/ceramic-glazing-techniques/the-magic-of-majolicamaiolica-how-to-create-vibrant-painterly-decoration-on-pottery/?floater=99
How to do it
Apply the base glaze ( white earthenware or white tin based) to earthenware bisque fired work. If you are brushing the glaze on, make sure you do the greater amount of coats. If the instructions say 1-3 coats, do three.
Make sure there is no glaze where the pot touches the kiln shelf, otherwise clean these areas.
Mix stain or underglaze with a frit or similar material to make a paste. The mixture should be frit 75% and colour 25 %.
Apply over the glaze and gradually work up your picture. Remember that the colour is weaker than pure stain or underglaze because it has been mixed with a frit so you may need to put it on thicker or in more layers.
Try: Spattering with a toothbrush, spraying with a squirt bottle, or dabbing with a crumpled rag .
Place in a kiln and fire to earthenware temperature.
Here are a few tips for designing and executing your composition by – Jake Allee ( a ceramics teacher in colarado)
http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-glaze-recipes/low-fire-glaze-recipes/messing-with-majolica-an-instructor-shares-tips-for-learning-and-teaching-the-majolica-technique/?floater=99
- Start with sketches. This way, you have most of the composition worked out before you commit.
- Simplify your colour palette. Too many colours appear “over the top” and can confuse the eye.
- Define the borders of your image area. You can use a banding wheel to define the image area on plates. For other forms, first use a light wash to define your boundaries.
- Always work light to dark. Use light washes first and created depth by gradually using more intense application of stain. Use yellow first and black last for the final emphasis of critical points in the composition. Don’t forget to use the white of the glaze as your lightest value.
- Work background to foreground. Apply background colours first (figure 2). As you work with each colour, move through the composition, filling in areas in the midground and foreground that have the same colour (figure 3). Remember to block out areas, leaving them white where light coloured foreground imagery overlaps the background. The coloured stains are like watercolours; they’re not opaque. Any marks you make continue to be visible even under layers of other colours. If you plan well, darker lines in the foreground used to develop details and that overlap lighter ones in the background enhance the idea of perspective, as the foreground lines will appear closer
- Work from the top of the form to the bottom. This helps to avoid smearing your previous work. If you are decorating a plate, work on the outside edges last
Another technique that ceramics artists love, is to scratch-through the colour after it dries. Suppose you paint a leaf, for example. After the colour dries, you can scratch-through and draw veins for the leaves. The technique can be very beautiful and effective.
Other information re majolica
Then the desired decoration is painted on to the raw glaze base with glaze colours.
The manipulation of the brush and colours are of great importance.
The colours are transparent so the brush strokes of each coat of colour can be seen, one colour painted on top of another forms a third or forth colour.
The light usually comes from the left and to accentuate it, on this side a little of the white glaze base is not painted.
Shading can be the same colour painted with different intensities or two different colours that are over lapping, violet with dark brown, yellow with ochre and many others.
When fired the glaze base and colours fuse together, they integrate to form a smooth, vitrified and unbroken surface which gives depth and strength to the colours.
You can use carbon paper to apply your design or use a soft pencil.
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