Intermediate Ceramics
Ceramics 201

Course Overview

This is an intermediate ceramics-pottery class for students who are interested in advancing their knowledge, skills, and confidence in clay. Students will expand on fundamental aspects of sculptural and functional pottery and develop their abilities to a higher level through guided instruction and projects. The course is a month long and students are expected to attend all classes and practice skills reviewed in class 1-2 times a week outside of class.

In order to support more advanced skill development, this course is NOT intended for beginners. This class primarily focuses on wheel throwing techniques with some handbuilding. Students are encouraged to review the prerequisites for what skills and knowledge are expected and ask a shop lead if they have any questions if this course might be appropriate.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this class you WILL ...

Develop an understanding of the properties and characteristics of different clays
Solve common problems related to working with taller and larger forms
Integrate wheel throwing and hand building to make more advanced pieces
Understand techniques for improving the quality and consistency of glazes
Understand how to apply glazes and how to apply glaze effects such as layering and brushing.
Develop your understanding of the firing process and the impact it has on ceramics.
Summarize and apply aesthetics design principles to make pieces with visual balance and weight (texture, shape, form, contrast, variety, etc.)
Apply intermediate techniques to trim, finish, and decorate ceramics using a variety of tools and techniques for more consistent and desired outcomes.
Develop the ability to critique and evaluate one's own work and the work of others.
Explore and apply inspiration for new pieces

Pottery Ergonomics

“If I could give a lasting gift to all potters it would not be a wonderful glaze formula or a new tool. Instead I would give the gift of awareness about the wise use of our bodies.” ~ John Glick, 1938-2017

Use of the hands warrants a brief discussion to prevent injuries and maximize efficiency. During centering, the job of the right hand is to center the top of the mound, lubricate in advance of the left hand, control the buttress at the base of the mound, and move the clay across the wheel head. Keep your hand cupped and pull or push with your arm and body. For a counter-clockwise spin, your left hand provides the power for centering.

The job of the left hand is to control major high points to center the mound. Look at the palm of your left hand with your thumb extended and note both the muscle pad at the base of your thumb and the smaller pad over your wrist bone. With your hand cupped, these two muscle pads are located perpendicular to the end of your arm bones and are your high point controllers and direct the force from your body into the clay.

If your hand is straight, there is no power and the pads at the base of your fingers contact the clay and cause significant friction.

Keep the finger pads off the clay by cupping your hands. Fingertips of a cupped hand touch the clay and communicate movement of the clay and the location of off-center high points. Your extended thumb keeps the muscle pad strong and available for use in controlling high points. For centering, a move against the spin is critical. Your left hand moves away from your body between 7:00 and 9:00 and your right hand moves toward your body between 1:00 and 3:00.

Helpful Videos for Getting Started

Centering

Centering and throwing

Pulling up the wall

Putting it together to make a utensil holder

(This is 3 pounds of clay)

Common Challenges

Wobbling

Possibly the most common problem. Not an easy solution here other than practice! Possibly try less clay and scale up in smaller incraments.

Collapsing

Often caused by too much water on the piece and working it for too long. The clay is always absorbing water so you can try using a heat gun, blow torch, or propane torch to remove some water and help strengthen the piece. This is common practice when working large.

Uneven Rim

Simply use the needle tool to cut off the uneven rim.

Detached Clay when Making a Pull

Simply let it come off. We want to avoid this. It's caused by improper hand placement and too much slip on the surface of the piece. Often when working larger, we do not adust our hand positions from small work so the clay has nowhere to go and comes off. Place your inside hand above your outside hand a little more.

Mugs

Mugs are an important item for most potters. Almost everyone uses a mug from time to time. There are infinte mug designs so its important to identify the qualities of mugs that you like to use. The addition of a handle can pose a functional and aestecic challenge. it brings together a wheel thrown piece and either a pulled, extruded, or handbuilt handle. There are many handle designs; from a one finger mug to a big handle that you can get your whole hand through. It is simply a matter of preference.

Attaching handles is all about good timing. You want your piece to be leather hard. Not too malluable and not too dry. Bad timing can lead to cracks. There are several methods for pulling handles that we will cover.

Bowls

A three pound bowl makes for a great serving bowl. Bowls tend to be easier to throw because they are not as tall as a vase, but there are other considerations. The inside shape of the bowl is the most important while throwing. You can always trim the outside shape but the inside will be finished when you finsish throwing. You want a nice smooth transistion from the base of the bowl all the way to the rim. Using a double rib technique can help here.

Working with Larger Forms

Working with more clay is challenging. Taller forms especially. It's important to remember that scaling up takes time and a lot of practice. Yet its also fun to challenge your abilities and see how big of a pot you can make. A good indication that your using all the clay is: on a 3 pound cylinder is 10-12 inches tall when 4 '' wide. Cutting your work in half is essential when learning. The side profile gives you valuable feeback. You can see if ther is any extra clay that you did not pull, usually toward the bottom, when you cut it in half. Don't be attached to each piece and focus on developing the skills to make a good pot every time. It won't happen overnight.

Glazing

Glazing can be the trickist park for many potters. It's very easy to ruin a good piece with a bad glaze or glaze defects. Application thickness is the most important. As a rule of thumb we generally say apply 3 coats when brushing on glaze. The problem is every glaze is different. Some glazes need to be on thick to get the desired effect and some will run like crazy and ruin your piece if it hits the kiln shelf. The only way to truly know is trial and error. This can make glazing overwhelming and time consuming, often ruining good pieces along the way. Making test tiles is a good way to see what the glaze or glaze combo will do before you put it on a piece that you care about.

Wax Resist

Brush wax onto the surface to be decorated. Ensure that you are building up a solid layer of wax and that there aren’t any gaps where glaze could spill over.
Once the wax has dried, I lightly sketch in the drawing you want.
Use a small carving or trimming tool to cut through the wax and into the clay a bit. [test this]
For a thin line, use a utility blade to lightly cut into the surface. Don’t cut too deeply!
Using a brush or small sponge, apply underglaze to the surface. It should settle into the carved areas while being resisted in the waxed areas.
Wipe away any excess underglaze left on the waxed surface. The wax will burn off in the bisque firing.

More info here: https://ratcitystudios.com/blog/2017/10/5/63bupyjlowr9v9nuainh6m03cmlmpw

Glazing Tips

Type of clay impacts the final color - Iron content in clay — will react chemically in the kiln to change color; This can only be determined with test tiles.
Thickness (~1mm) every glaze is different and you need to test glazes beforehand to know the proper thickness to apply

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Intermediate CeramicsCeramics 201