Ceramics

Vocabulary:

• ceramics

• plastic

• glaze

• slip

• kiln

Objectives:

• Identify the basic properties of clay

• Discuss how ancient potters found, formed, and fired clay.

• Understanding the process of Greek red- and black figure ceramic

All of you have experience with how it feels to make something in clay. This kinship with one of the most naturally occurring substances on the planet is as old as human life and has been repeated throughout history. Whose hand can resist tracing a picture or design on the ground, modeling moist natural earth to make a figure, or building a castle in the sand?

Many techniques used to make pottery were developed thousands of years ago yet they are still being practiced today. Methods of preparing, forming, and decorating pottery used in prehistoric times are still employed by folk artists and artisan potters around the world. Clay is an especially versatile medium.

Pottery and spaceship panels are both examples of ceramics- things made from clay, the basic material for all ceramic creations. But what is clay exactly, and what separates it from mere mud?

Clay is a created as a result of the decomposition of igneous rock, which makes up the entire earth’s crust. Igneous rock is produced when rock that is melted be volcanic heat cools and hardens. This action began when the earth was formed millions of years ago and happened each time a volcano erupts and spews magma, or molten rock, from inside the earthonto the surface. Granite, the rock that makes up the earths crust, is produced from this volcanic activity. An essential element of granite or feldspar is the geological basis for clay.

Overtime, exposure to weathering causes these materials to break down into smaller and smaller elements. The gradual movement of ice, water, wind, and tree roots pulverize the earths mantle, grinding boulders to rocks, rocks to pebbles, and ultimately pebbles to the finest grains of minerals that comprise clay.

Origins of Ceramics

Of all the Arts, ceramics, dating back to when people first learned to control fire. From clues discovered at Stone Age sites, Anthropologists have pieced together theories about the originals of ceramics.

One theory suggests that people first began to model clay as a diversion. they may have formed clay animals and human images to embellish a story or to use it in a religious ritual. Some of the clay pieces may have been tossed into a communal fire.

when Clay is heated quickly, the water trapped inside expands and turns into steam. This rapid expansion happens with such powerful force that the clay explodes and shatters. Some anthropologists speculate that people thought these explosions were a magical Wonder., something like fireworks, and they most likely repeated the process just for excitement.

But some Clay figurines may have dried before they were put into the fire. instead of this play, they were transformed by the heat into ceramic figures. another Marvel! mud turned into stone! such ancient ceramic figures have been found in many parts of the world.

Sometimes clay was used for practical purposes. When people began cultivating crops, they needed containers to cook in, hold water and food, and store seeds. The shaped clay into vessels by pinching, quilling, or pressing it over round stones and gourds. They also pressed the clay into woven baskets, using basket shaped as a kind of mold. Most likely these people baked clay pots in the same fires that they used for cooking. cooking fires don't get very, so the combination of low-temperature firings and in. He's in the clay caused this primitive Pottery to be extremely fragile and porous.

As populations in, people wanted stronger vessels in greater quantity. clay slabs were used to construct huge vessels and granaries for crop storage. to keep track of what was in storage, people marked symbols on clay. scholars believe that this was probably the beginning of writing.

One of the first writing systems was developed in ancient Mesopotamia to record inventory and accounts and was later used on clay tablets. Surviving clay tablets included detailed information on historical events in, and offer a rare insight into the nature and concerns of ancient societies.

Early Techniques- Production

Early potter's developed a wide range of production techniques. they passed on information and skills from generation to generation including:

• knowing where to dig the best clay

• Deciding which type of clay was best suited to a particular use

• transporting the clay

• removing any impurities

• blending in other materials to strengthen or improve the clay

• forming the desired shape

• adding design elements

• drying the work

• firing the work

• glazing

• developing systems of distribution for ceramics

Note it- Overtime, potters discovered ways to improve each step of the process. Sometimes, the improvements were so revolutionary, potters from another part of the region or society tried desperately to copy them. The delicate blue and white glazes that the Chinese developed in the 14th century, for instance, set off a world craze for pottery of this style. Some potters failed to successfully replicate the blue and white glazes, but their attempts led to new discoveries. in this way, technological and artistic Innovations leapfrogged from country to country and from era to era.

Innovations continue to press ceramic art for, but the early techniques enjoy. folk artists and Artisans still work in traditional ways and use many of the techniques described below.

Preparation

The clay that you work within a studio has typically been processed and prepared to some degree. Early potter's dug the raw materials out of the, and it often contained in. He's such as pebbles or plant matter. To remove impurities from the clay before you, some early potter's dried their clay in the sun, crushed it into small pieces, and picked out unwanted materials. Then they rehydrated or slapped the dry clay to make it work. This method was fine for making only a few pots, but it was difficult and time-consuming.

Eventually, potters discovered that it was much easier and faster to separate impurities by adding water to the clay then pouring off the liquid clay from one container. This process, known as decanting, causes the coarser of material to settle to the bottom.

Another traditional method for removing impurities is known as levitation. Here, the clay is prepared as a Slip and allowed to flow slowly down a gentle sloping channel. Finer particles flow over a lip at the end of the, while the courser particles settle behind the lip.