Full Description
This introductory guide to ceramics is geared to a simple, beginning studio situation. The text provides descriptions of basic tools, materials, and techniques paired with ample illustrations of processes to help beginners get started in clay.
Contents
In each chapter: Key Terms / Creative Exercises / Notes and Sketches
1. The Ceramics Studio
Early Pottery Methods
The Contemporary Studio
Ceramics Studio Equipment
2. About Clay
How Clay Was Formed
Types of Clay
Prepared Clay Bodies
Health and Safety
Ventilation
Personal Protection
Studio Health and Safety Rules
Clay Recipes to Mix
Wedging
3. Handbuilding
Aesthetic Considerations
History of Pinching
Tools
Hands as Tools
Collecting Tools
Pinching
History of Coiling
Making the Coils
Building with Coils
Scoring and Using Slip
Profile of a Potter: Juliet Thorne
Keeping Work Damp
Drying Your Work
4. Slabs and Tiles
History of Slabs
Making Slabs
Building with Slabs
Hard-edged Forms
Open Box to Sculpture
Soft Slab Construction
Tiles
Making Tiles
Drying Tiles
5. Sculpture
History of Sculpture
Relief Sculpture
Sculpture-in-the-Round
Sketching and Clay
Tools
Hands as Tools
Armatures
Building Hollow
Building Solid
Mixed Media and Installations
6. Molds
History of Molds
Hump Molds
Press Molds
Drape Molds
Slip Casting
7. The Wheel
History: From Turntable to Wheel
Learning to Throw
Types of Wheels
Centering
Opening
Pulling Up the Wall
Throwing a Mug
Pulling a Handle
Thrown Forms
Throwing a Vase
Throwing a Bowl
Profile of a Potter: Ross Spangler
Trimming
Altered Forms
8. Surfaces
History of Surfaces
Texture
Burnishing
Engobe and Slip
Sgraffito
Terra Sigillata
Oxides and Stains
Underglazes
Decorative Underglaze Techniques
Glazes
Mixing and Testing Glazes
Applying Glaze
Dipping a Glaze
Pouring Glazes
Spraying Glazes
Surface Treatments
Resist Methods
China Paints, Overglazes, and Enamels
9. Firing
History of Firing
What Happens in the Fire
Bisque Firing
Loading a Bisque Kiln
Monitoring the Kiln
Glaze Firing
Transformation
Oxidation and Reduction Atmospheres
Historical Raku
Contemporary Raku
Wood Firing
Salt-Glazing
Your Future in Clay
Profile: Ben Owen
Glossary
Further Reading
Index