Ceramic Talk

Dangers of Working With Clay

Handle a Kiln Properly

In previous blogs, I have written about my wife and me becoming interested in building a ceramics business as an income generator after my retirement. I have also detailed why we decided that ceramics was not the business that suited us. However, we still follow ceramic shows and occasionally get into conversations with the people who do pursue the ceramics business. One discussion took a tangent off into some hazards of working with clay that I had never considered.

The discussion began with the possible presence of lead in some clay used by potters and the need to make certain it is handled by someone knowledgeable. Lead is dangerous to your health when breathed in or ingested and can also be absorbed through the skin. It is extremely dangerous when fired in a kiln and becoming airborne. Obviously, eating or drinking from a ceramic containing lead is dangerous. While clay can contain lead so can the glazes used when firing the ceramics. Even paint is sometimes—especially older paint—contains lead. While white and red paints are the most suspect, it’s also important to remember that both are used to tint other colors of paints.

Lead isn’t the only danger; materials such as barium, cobalt, cadmium and others may be included in the ingredients of paint.

At first, I thought the guy who was leading the conversation was laying the dangers on a little bit thickly, but as he continued he seemed to know what he was talking about.

In any event, all a potter has to do is read labels and check the background of his materials. Of course, a potter should also be educated in how to handle chemicals and avoid doing things that invite trouble.

The guy said one more thing that made a lot of sense; don’t set up a kiln in the basement or an enclosed garage or workshop. The probability of inhaling toxins is simply too great.

Ceramics as a Vocation

The Ceramics Business is Hard Work

As I mentioned in a previous blog, my wife has a friend who has been making and selling ceramics for many years. She is successful to the point where my wife was intrigued by the thought of her and me learning the trade and traveling to ceramic shows to sell our creations after my retirement from my regular job.

We worked with my wife’s friend for a while in an attempt to learn the business. However, after awhile it became obvious we were holding up her production to the point where we were hurting her business. It became obvious to us that this is not a vocation that you simply jump into, learn all about, and start ginning out beautiful, utilitarian pieces of ceramics for sale.

We learned that we lacked development of our creative ability. If we do ,in fact, have creative ability, it takes awhile to develop it.

During the months we worked weekends with my wife’s friend, we worked our butts off. We were sore all over from handling wet clay, using force to center it and hunching over the wheel, and lifting endless pieces to fire and then store them. We attended several ceramic shows and saw right away we would need a van or pick-up to haul the large, heavy pieces around. The loading and unloading of pottery was difficult for people our age who haven’t developed the necessary muscles over years of production.

We were particularly struck by the number of pieces that she produced and then rejected as unworthy for sale. All that work for nothing.

We are now participating in ceramic courses at our local community college and we intend to continue to throw and fire ceramics, but only as a hobby. We’ll do it on our schedule, a piece at a time and enjoy the pleasure it gives us.

Centering the Clay

Stay On Balance

Centering the clay on the potter’s wheel is the first step in throwing pottery and is the one that determines the success of your finished piece. The reason is simple; if the clay is not in the center of the wheel the centrifugal force will make it lean to one side as the wheel turns. You will not be able to mold the clay properly between your hands unless it is standing straight up on the wheel.

Prepare to center the clay on the wheel by seating yourself comfortably so that your elbows can press against your thighs for support as you force the clay to the center of the wheel.
Throw the wet clay onto the wheel as close to the center as possible. Throw it with force so the clay sticks to the wheel.
Spin the wheel slowly while using both hands to pat the clay into the shape of a cone.
Turn the wheel faster and lean into the clay with both freshly wetted hands while using the weight of your body. The objective is to force the clay to the middle of the wheel. Remember, the clay must be balanced in the center of the wheel so it stands straight up.
Use the left hand as a guide to mold the clay while the right hand forces it straight down.
Hold one hand on each side of the clay while pressing your elbows into your body for added support to assist in holding your hands steady and unmoving.
Slowly push inward with your hands to force the clay upward. Use slurry on the clay to provide lubrication. If the clay is dry it will catch on your hands and go off-balance.
Bring the wheel up to full speed. The clay is centered when you no longer feel any pressure pushing against your hands along the sides or the top of the clay.

Throwing Pottery for Retirement

Retirement Income

I took a pottery class while living in Lincoln, Nebraska. My wife wanted the two us to take the full course of classes over the winter months and eventually get to the point where we fired our own creations.

This desire on her part arose from a friend on one of her indoor soccer teams who threw her own clay and fired it into beautiful ceramic pieces. She then loaded up and drove a circuit throughout the year to a number of craft shows in the mid-west.

My wife thought this would be a nice way to fund our retirement, work together and see the country while meeting interesting people. It’s was a good idea but realizing it was something else.

Honestly, neither of us gave any thought as to how physically demanding it is to actually work with, and transport pottery to craft shows. My wife and I are hard workers and even after we got an inkling of the time and effort required to produce enough pottery to sell at a reasonable profit, we were still game to try it.

However, we quickly learned a number of things. I mean, we weren’t naïve and we spoke extensively with my wife’s teammate, Charlotte, who gave us as much information and encouragement as she possibly could.

Even so, as we took the first several of our classes, we learned some important facts:

Making pottery for the simple enjoyment of it is a relaxing and thoroughly pleasurable experience that does not require any special mechanical or artistic talent.
It is a skill that requires a great deal of experience to master; especially to the point where the pieces produced are marketable.
The potters must be physically strong and willing to work hard while repetitively lifting heavy weights in a bent-over position.
Attractive and marketable pottery is produced through a combination of artistic talent, an understanding of the clay and skillful techniques on the wheel. Mastering the firing oven to produce attractive pottery is a gift bordering on black magic.
The potter must be prepared to absorb the loss of a huge percentage of finished pieces simply because they do not turn out well enough to sell.

The potter must possess the physical, mental and artistic aptitude to produce pottery. Then the potter must have the skill—gained from years of experience—to know what they are doing.

My job has never been 9AM till 5PM; the nature of it is “dawn to dusk” and “can till can’t.” I didn’t have the time to dedicate to learning the craft on a daily basis and retirement was not far enough away to provide enough time for me to gain that experience.

As it is, my wife is interning with her friend and learning the craft by working with it daily. She enjoys it so far and if she does reach the point where we can sell it at craft shows, I’ll be right there with her after I retire.

Hand-painting Pottery

Creating Decorative Pottery

You may remember that several weeks ago we talked about hand-painting ceramics. Today I want to discuss painting pottery. The process is somewhat similar but has some subtle as well as bold differences.

Working with clay is enjoyable and making a vase, pot or other piece from it produces a feeling of satisfaction. The satisfaction stems from working with your hands and mind together to create something. Even better, you take your time to do it, starting over as many times as necessary and no one but you need even see it, much less approve of it.

If you do want to display it, you can easily improve on its appearance—while exercising more creativity—by painting it. Painted pottery, regardless of how rustic it many look, is attractive when displayed in the house or outside on the patio or porch. The process of painting and treating the pottery is simple and you do not need special skills or much instruction to do it properly. Once done properly, the hand-painted pottery is weather resistant and retains its bright colors for many years.

Clean the outside of the pottery piece thoroughly with a damp cloth, taking care to remove dirt and grime. Allow it to dry completely overnight.
Apply spray pottery sealant to the piece. Adjust the spray nozzle to fine spray or hold the can away from the pottery so the resulting spray is a fine mist. The idea is to spray it thoroughly but not allow a lot of the spray to collect in one place and create unsightly runs down the outside of the piece. Work in a well-ventilated area while wearing a nose and mouth mask; the spray can inhibit breathing and is flammable. Let the sealer set according to manufacturer’s directions until it is completely dry.
Paint the outside of the pottery piece with a neutral base coat using a wide brush for better coverage. Allow the first coat to dry and apply a second one. After it has dried, apply one more coat. Allow to dry.
Exercise your inner artist, take your time and paint the designs you wish with patio paints, available from craft stores. Apply as many coats as necessary to attain the bold bright color that satisfies you and allow the paint to dry completely between coats.
Spray the outside of the pottery piece with two to three coats of sealant, allowing each coat to thoroughly dry before applying the next.

The pottery is ready to display inside or outside. When displaying outside, make certain it is not in a position to catch rain or snow.

Ceramics Vs. Pottery

Differences Between Pottery and Ceramics

People often become confused as to what is pottery and what is ceramics. Both have been instrumental in making human life simpler and more beautiful for thousands of years. They are both made from the same basic material. One is simplicity itself to form into vases, cups or plates and use to make life more comfortable, or to sculpt it into fine art to enjoy forever. The other involves more time and effort to create and adds beauty as well as serving utilitarian purposes.

Strictly speaking however, pottery is technically meant to include containers, generally for household use, formed of clay.

Pottery is generally classified as either commercial pottery or studio pottery. Commercial pottery is produced in factories and Studio pottery is made by individual potters.

Art pottery is more creative pottery that may be produced commercially or in individual studios.

Commercial potters produce huge quantities of the same pottery form all day. Studio pottery is still produced in quantity but generally is very diverse and exhibits more aesthetic qualities as individual potters are creative with their pottery.

Ceramics are made from materials that change when fired, or heated to between 660 to 1,470 degrees Fahrenheit. Once turned into ceramic from clay, the newly changed ceramic will no longer dissolve in water as will clay.

People who work with clay are referred to generally as potters. The designation of potter is then broken down into production potters or studio potters. Clay and ceramic artists may be either production or studio potters who move from producing quantities of the same item to producing pottery that is individualistic and creatively compelling.

A ceramist is someone who works with ceramics either on an industrial or individual basis. A ceramic engineer works in industry with the chemistry and physics of ceramic.

Painting Creative Ceramics

Individualize Your Ceramic Pieces

Making simple pinch pottery, glazing and firing it creates an attractive ceramic piece that can be displayed in a curio case or used as a flower pot or even to collect spare change. Painting the ceramic takes the piece to a whole new level of attractiveness and creativity.

Whole pottery and pottery shards are the oldest objects found by archeologists. Throughout the ages pottery has been used for multiple purposes and original designs, etching and painting has always—from the earliest period—been applied to personalize and make these utilitarian pieces more expressive and attractive.

Clean your hands and workspace before beginning. Place the ceramic on the worktable and use a clean damp sponge to thoroughly clean it. Wipe the piece with a clean soft towel to dry it and remove residual debris.

Lightly sand the glaze from the area you plan to apply paint. Don’t take the glaze down to bare pottery; simply remove some of the glaze because the paint bonds better to a porous surface. Clean the ceramic one more time with the sponge and dry it thoroughly with the soft towel.

Apply a coat of high-adhesion primer on the area to be painted and allow it to dry. Paint the piece again with a second coat of primer and allow it dry.

It’s time for the artist in you to emerge. Draw the design you plan to paint by using a pencil to lightly sketch it on the ceramic. Don’t push so hard on the pencil that it pokes through the primer. You can use a stencil if you can get it to lay flat on the surface of the ceramic.

Be creative, use a lot of color and a small brush to paint in details and larger brushes for broader strokes.

It is necessary to apply three coats of paint—allowing it to dry thoroughly between each coat—so that the colors remain crisp and bold.

The final step is to apply acrylic gloss to the entire ceramic regardless if you only painted a small part of it. The gloss makes the ceramic shine and therefore must be uniform over the total surface. Apply three coats to protect the paint allowing the gloss to dry completely between each coat.

Pinch Pottery

Primitive Pottery

Pinch pottery is the oldest type of pottery found by archaeologists. Made thousands of years before the introduction of the pottery wheel, pinch pottery was made and used for decoration, religious purposes and for use as cups and bowls. Pinch pottery was typically small and was eventually followed by coil pottery that allowed larger statutes, sculptures and vessels to be formed.

Making a pinch pot is the simplest method of making pottery pieces from clay. It is also the best way to learn how to interact with clay. You must learn how wet to make the clay, how thick or thin to make pottery walls, and how the clay responds to your touch.

Begin making a pinch pottery cup through these basic steps:

Work the clay into a ball and knead it to remove voids in the clay where air collects and causes “blowouts” when left in the clay.
Determine if the clay is loose enough to work and form while being dry enough to hold its shape. This skill improves quickly and markedly with experience.
Insert your thumb in the middle of the clay ball. As you create the hole make certain you leave approximately ¼-inch of clay to form the bottom of the cup.
Cup the vessel in both hands. Use your thumbs to work the clay – up from the bottom of the cup – to form the walls. Rotate the cup in your hands as you work it to keep the walls an even ¼-inch thick from the bottom to the top.
Tamp the bottom of the cup lightly on a flat surface from time to time to flatten the bottom and make it level.
Use a comb or the back of a butter knife to smooth the outside walls of the vessel. You can also create a textured surface or even draw a picture on it or inscribe it.
Allow the pinch pottery to dry. Glaze and fire it or paint it as desired.

Working the Pottery Wheel

Pottery Wheel Skills

Working the potter’s wheel is part art and part acquired skill. While the soul of an artist is certainly useful it is not absolutely necessary to throw good pottery. The potter’s wheel is difficult to master and the beginner must accept that it will require a lot of time and effort to produce the desired results. The beginner must simply relax and enjoy the process of learning.

The first lesson a beginning potter must learn is that the best pieces are created by allowing the hands to form the object and not to rely on the brain to design it.

There are three basic tenants of throwing pottery; practice, experience and experimentation.

Practice

Wet clay is easily malleable, transforming its shape at your lightest touch. Practice is absolutely necessary to master the form the clay takes. The mind and emotions must bond to understand how the clay moves while the body builds muscle memory of the routine and rhythm of working the wheel. Practice also gives you the confidence and comfort level needed to throw the pottery and the knowledge of what will occur when you move your hands in different ways.

Experience

Experience is the practice of observing and evaluating each move you make and each piece you throw. You develop procedural knowledge of the best methods of working the wheel and the clay. By examining these things objectively and making corrections as necessary you change your behavior to produce the results you desire.

Experimentation

Practice also gives you the opportunity to experiment as you work the clay. You must push the limits of developing your skill of molding the clay through repetition and evaluation in order to rise to the next skill level. You can correct problems in your technique or refine your skill by changing your methods through experimentation. It is important that you don’t become discouraged as you experiment. It requires a good deal of practice and experience to reap the benefits of experimentation.

Beginning Ceramic Art

Try Ceramic Art

Sit with an artist who is working with wet clay, watch them work and your interest in ceramic art may be captured for the rest of your life. Work with your hands in wet clay, focus entirely on forming it into the shape you wish and let your troubled thoughts melt away.

You can stop at any point where you are unhappy with the form the clay is taking and begin over. It is not necessary to be an artist or to even have artistic talent. Whatever you make from the clay is your creation, and does not have to be judged by anyone else.

The piece thrown off the potter’s wheel is only the first look at how it will appear when completely finished. Glazing and firing or baking you creation changes the appearance of it during each step of the process.

Many people are reluctant to take the first step of signing up for a workshop or college course because of concerns regarding the expense of the potter’s wheel or kiln. Others are concerned that creating ceramic art is too technical a process. Finally, some simply believe they have no artistic talent and would be embarrassed at what they produce.

Crafting ceramic art is simpler today than ever before. A potter’s wheel is not necessary to create ceramic art such as statues, vases and decorative dishes or anything else that can be thrown by hand-spinning on a wheel.

Handcrafting clay primarily requires the use of an ordinary rolling pin instead of a potter’s wheel. While a wheel may be in the future for the handcrafter, it is not necessary. If a new wheel is desired – used ones are difficult to find and generally spin unevenly due to overuse – they last for many years and the artist learns to become very comfortable with their own wheel.

Firing your creation is another process that offers options. Beginners and veterans alike often opt to use polymer clays that are baked – or fired – in your kitchen oven. If desired, kilns are available in graduated sizes to fire increasingly larger pieces of art. The prices, of course, depend on the size and type of kiln. Once again, used one are difficult to find and may have years of glaze and clay spills in them, which potentially can ruin your piece.

Don’t concern yourself with negative thoughts of how difficult you think creating ceramic art may be, instead, sign up for a course or visit a friend who is a potter and learn for yourself the pleasure and satisfaction ceramics will give you.