Art I

Ms. Tieman

TODAY • Please follow along with the PowerPoint and fill

in your ceramic note sheet

• Going over IMPORTANT information for our unit on ceramics

• Daily grade given for being on task and participating; if you are off task/sleeping you will loose points

• You will be quizzed on this information this 6 weeks and it will also be on the final exam

“Some of the oldest messages left by man of his existence on this earth are the writings he left on cave walls and the shards of the ceramic tools he used in everyday life.  It would seem that the knowledge of making things out of hardened clay was not confined to any one continent or area of our world but is fairly well known to every race and culture that ever existed.”

~Don Francois Roban

What is Clay?Clay is . . .. . .a fine mixture of

decomposed igneous rock materials and organic matter

• Clay is continuouslybeing formed

• Over time, exposure to the elements cause the materials to break down into smaller and smaller pieces

Boulders Rocks Pebbles Fine grain materials that make up clay

Objects made from any type of clay that is fired

with the aid of heat

History of Ceramics

• It is hypothesized that ceramics came about when humans 1st learned to control fire

• Old methods and concepts are still used today

• Anthropologists use Stone Age clues to piece together a variety of possible theories of ceramic’s origin

Greece 1600 B.C

Some jars as tall as 6 ft

Created using the coil method

Cuniform Script• Early system of

writing in Mesopotamia

• Stylus pressed into clay tablets

• Record-keeping of laws, historical events, & harvests

Early Forms of Communication and Documentation:

Hunting Scene 2250-2150 BCE, Mesopotamia

Form of signature, or identification on important documents

Cylinder Seal

• Pots were widely used as funerary objects in prehistoric burial grounds

• Contained food to accompany dead on journey to the afterlife

• Infants and small children• Ceramic figurines and

animals to protect the deceased.

Terracotta Warriors

• Form of funerary art - buried with the First Emperor of Qin (He first emperor of China in 221 BCE.)

• Their purpose was to help him rule in the afterlife. • Architects are currently still excavating

Hand Building : Process of forming pieces using hands without the use of a potter’s wheel; 30,000 years old

The earliest and simplest methods are still used today:

Three Basic Hand Building Techniques:

1. Pinch Method (oldest method)

2. Coil Method

3. Slab Method

Pinch Method

• Is when clay is pulled and pinched in order to shape an object with fingers

• It is the oldest form of ceramic hand building

Pinch Pot

Pinch Method:

Two Pinch Pots Combined to create a hollow form:

Coil Method• Is when long ropes/coils of clay

that are of equal thicknesses are used to build a ceramic object

Coil

Coil

Slab Method

• Is a method of rolling out clay flat to an equal thickness

• Slabs can be cut into shapes and used to construct ceramic objects

Slab Method

Slab Method

Slab Method

Potter’s Wheel : a machine that forms pottery using a wheel

1. Slurry/Slip: Liquid clay; “glue” required to attach two pieces of clay together

2. Wet/Soft: Plastic clay; workable; easily manipulated ** IDEAL

6 Stages of Clay:

6 Stages of Clay Con’t

3. Leather Hard: Clay is stiff but still damp; firm -maintains form and can be smoothed, carved, and added to;

*not easily

distorted

6 Stages of Clay Con’t:

4. Bone-dry (Greenware): Water has evaporated from the clay; form is brittle and ready to be fired

** Clay becomes lighter in color

6 Stages of Clay Con’t:5. Bisque: fired once; ready to be glazed

then fired a second time

6. Glazeware: objects that have been fired a second time after glaze has been applied

Clay may be recycled through the bone dry stage by simply

rehydrating

R*E*C*Y*C*L*E :

**Once clay has been fired it becomes permanent – it can no longer be recycled

The Kiln:• Chamber for firing your clay

• Clay MUST be Bone Dry to fire

• You must fire your clay for it to become permanent

Kiln

• A kiln can reach temperatures of 2,500 degrees F. and higher

• Your oven at home possibly reaches 500 degrees - at the most

• View inside

The Kiln

8-12 hours to heat to maximum temperature

+ 8-12 hours to cool

16-24 hours for firing cycle

Glaze:• A coating of liquid glass that

is applied to a clay surface that melts together and forms a decorative and protective surface

Glaze also makes your ceramic piece:

• Colorful

• Food Safe (check glaze label)

• Water Proof

Wedging:• Process of slamming, kneading,

or pushing clay

1. Removes air bubbles trapped in the clay

2. Equalizes moisture

3. Makes clay texture uniform

4. Re –forms smaller pieces into one big one

**You MUST always wedge first BEFORE using your clay.

Plasticity:

• Workability;

• Is the quality of clay that allows it to be easily manipulated and still maintain its shape

• Ideal texture for clay = play dough

• The ability to hold together while being shaped (workability)

? Does it stretch and bend without breaking?

? Test It! Wrap a coil around your finger. If it cracks, the clay is not plastic.

Plastic

Not Plastic

Create the Coil

• All clay contains water.• Clay dehydrates when exposed to air.• Add water to clay to make it more plastic.• Too little or too much water causes clay to

become less plastic.

Tip: Mist clay with damp sponge. ALWAYS wrap your projects with plastic before storing.

Moisture

Score:• Means the process of roughing up

the edges of clay with a tool in order to join two pieces of clay together

You must always:

“score, slip, and press” when joining any two pieces of clay together

• Functional = pottery that serves a purpose or does a job.

• Ex. = dishes, vases, bowls, cups or plates

Aesthetics:• The visual beauty or pleasurable qualities

of an object

Sculpture in the Round:• a free standing sculpture

that is meant to be seen from all sides

Chris Gustin

Incising –carving or cutting into the clay surface with a tool

Golden Rules of Ceramics:

• Always WEDGE clay first • Score, slip, and press ALWAYS when

joining two pieces of clay• No trapped air! – poke escape hole!• Clay must be no thicker than the tip of

your thumb• Always cover clay fully with plastic

bag so it won’t dry out