Ceramics for Everyone

Answer 1

In most communities you'll find studios where one can spend an afternoon or evening enjoying the satisfying and creative process involved in doing ceramics. This is an easy to learn craft in which the piece has already been created. It's now up to you to turn it into your own personal piece of art.

Ceramic figurines and home decor items in an unfired state are known as greenware. They are created by pouring liquid slip into molds. When it has dried and removed from the mold, it's ready for you to complete.

Before painting your piece, you must prepare it. As it comes out of the mold, it has seams which need to be smoothed out. There are a number of tools you can use to scrape down the rough seams. When you've scraped them down, you then go over the seams with a moist sponge. This will remove any marks you have created in the greenware. You can also use the sponge to make minor corrections over the surface of the piece.

Use natural sea sponge. They are available in different sizes and densities. Have several in various sizes and densities.

Now the creative part starts. You have an almost unlimited number of paints available in more colors than you can imagine. This is called an underglaze. Different paints require differing numbers of coats to achieve their particular look. Make sure you apply the proper number coats of paint to your piece. Using too little paint can give the piece uneven coloring. And this doesn't show up until after the piece has been fired.

That's about it for your first session. Now the piece has to be fired in a kiln. This takes many hours to get the furnace up to the proper temperature, bake for the appropriate time, and then cool down.

The next time you go to the class, you'll put a glaze on the piece. This seals it and gives it the finish, which can be gloss, satin, mottled, crackled, as well as other exotic finishes. And then back into the kiln for a final firing.

The next trip should be the one you finally get to bring home that piece you've been working on for several weeks. This isn't a hobby of instant gratification, but it's well worth the wait. Your artistic side will be rewarded with great decorator items for yourself and your friends.