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Earth, Water, and Fire
Earth, Water, and Fire
Clay is a fascinating material. Dig it out of the ground, add water and you can shape it into nearly any form. Put it through the fire and it could last for a thousand years- or only until it gets knocked off of the counter, making it all the more precious.
I have dug clay from creek beds for a couple of fun projects. Our local clay has a lot of iron, so it is good for making red bricks. I prefer a white clay body to enhance my glaze colors, so I buy 500 pounds at a time. Since it is vacuum pugged and ready to use, that saves me a lot of time in sieving and wedging to prepare the clay.
Most of my work is thrown on the potter's wheel. It looks so easy and quick, but it took me a lot of practice to turn balls of clay into mugs and bowls. Of course the next step, turning them over and trimming a proper foot, takes more than twice as long.
One of my favorite stages of the process is the surface decoration. I use flowers or fabric for my designs or I make stamps out of clay. Though very time consuming, I enjoy adding these delicate details.
After a week (or three ) of drying, the pieces should be bone-dry. This is the most fragile state. An air-dried mug picked up by the handle is quite likely to break, I know from experience. Unfired clay pieces are referred to as greenware.
When I have enough pieces, the next stage is to fill the kiln for the bisque firing. The kiln is then heated to 1830 degrees Fahrenheit (999 C) which takes 16-20 hours. After a day of cooling, not only can you pick up a mug by the handle, but you can also dip it in water without it turning back into a lump of clay. Bisque pieces are now ready for glaze.
Glazes are a thin coating of glass on the pots. Silica, the glass former, is mixed with other minerals to get the right melting temperature without it running off the pots. I mix my own glazes by weighing out different minerals in powdered form. Many of my pieces are hand-painted, then dipped in a bucket of another glaze color.
After I spend a week glazing, the kiln is loaded again. This time it is fired to 2232 degrees Farenheit (1220 C). It takes 12-16 hours to reach that temperature and another day to cool making the kiln opening an exciting event.
At 2,000 degrees there are always surprises; some good and some not. Something may have warped or bubbled mysteriously; it's always a learning experience.
For the most part, all goes well through this 2 month production. The pieces are now colorful, waterproof, and washable.
They are ready to use for that contemplative cup of tea or serving appetizers to a full-house of guests, making the lengthy process well worth it.
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