Experiencing Clay Chapter 2

Working with clayKnow thy clay

Properties:

Plasticity-aged clay is the best!

Shrinkage- know how much your clay shrinks when it dries and when it is fired.Thin and small pieces dry faster. Thicker and larger clay dries slowly

Texture: Clay can range from very course to smooth clay. Grog is added to a clay body for large, thick pieces. A smooth clay body is good for wheel throwing and detail work

Moisture: Know how water affects your clay body. TOO MUCH WATER IS BAD!!!

Keep project hydrated with a light mist and covered in plastic

Clay that looks dry but feels cold is still wet and will blow up in the kiln.

Handling Clay: Pay attention to how the clay feels.

How does the clay react to water? Raku gets mushy, cracks, and becomes course.

Preparing clay:

Wedging- to work out any air bubbles and to make the clay homogeneous.

SAFTEY!!!

1. Wear protective clothing! Bring an apron and towel and was every week

2. Capture clay dust with water! Use a wet sponge to clean tables. NO DRY SWEEPING

3. Don’t eat in the studio. Clay dust is harmful to ingest.

4. Wear a dust mask or respirator. When sanding, scraping, or mixing dry clay wear a mask.

5.

Important TermsStages of clay:

Leather hard- when the clay has lost some moisture and the clay body is the consistency of leather or cheese and can stand on its own. Still workable

Bone Dry- The clay is dry but unfired and is fragile at this state. Not malleable.

Bisque- After the first firing when moisture has been taken out of the clay body. The clay is still porous with no glaze.

Greenware- unfired pottery or sculpture.

coil- a cord of clay.

pinch pot- a pot created my pinching the clay into a bowl shape.

Score- to rough up the surface of the clay to adhere two separate pieces together.

Steps in Aesthetic scanning

Use these steps to scan- make a visual inventory of your impressions of a ceramic work. (Elements and Principles)

1. Sensory Qualities- Elements of design Shape and Form- organic geometric/ cylinder, cube, sphere, pyramid, ect..Line- thick, thin,tapering /zig zag, implied, diagonal, curving horizontal, vertical, parallel. Color-hue, value, intensity, shade, transparent, translucent, opaque, monochrome, polychrome.Space- positive, negative, enclosed, open, deep, shallow.Texture -rough, smooth, ridged, pebbly, grooved.

2. Formal Qualities- Principles of designBalance- symetrical, asymetrical, radialUnity-Is there harmony?Proportion & Size - length, width, height, volume, weight, thickness.Movement & Rhythm- repeated elements Emphasis- an area that grabs your attention. Pattern - random or planned?

3. Expressive Qualities- the feeling Mood- How do you describe the feeling you get from looking at the work?Tension- How do the sensory and formal qualities you’ve noted give you the sense of the clay work’s energy? Ideals- Sometimes work seems to express an ideal.

Technical Qualities- How the clay was created. What materials and techniques

Clay- what type of clay body was used?Process- How was it formed?Decoration- What technique was used on the clay’s surface?Firing- how was it fired?