Tips to Work By

Every class session I’m reminded how long the learning curve is for ceramics. There are soooo many options for materials and the techniques we employ, glaze applications, firing variations and then there’s the combinations of all these things. It takes a long time to master this art. I still learn something every time I open a glaze kiln. So here are some tips I find myself telling students frequently. Hopefully they to help shorten the curve!

* Water is the key-to building! To build successfully you have to monitor and control the water content in your piece. Try to have the dampness of your clay parts matching when you’re joining them together. Spray down the dry parts and let the wet ones firm up a bit so they are as compatible as possible. Once things are joined, I’ll often wrap the piece up in plastic so the water levels can equalize within the piece. The water will migrate so sometimes it’s best to just let it sit awhile.

* Water is also the key-to glazing! Layers of glaze don’t stick to your piece through evaporation. They adhere and look dry because the clay is absorbing water from the glaze leaving a layer of minerals behind. A thin walled piece will be able to absorb less water at a time than a thick piece and therefore you might only be able to get a single layer on until it has to sit and eventually evaporate. This means complicated glazing takes some planning and might have to happen over a couple of days.

* Little by little! Working in ceramics is a gradual process and most things are done little by little. All the forming is gradual-gentle shifting of shapes and changes of pressure can effect things significantly. Abrupt actions often lead to more time spent later trying to correct over zealous steps whether it’s smoothing out deep finger dents or mending cracks from vigorous changes in shape.

* Have Patience! Clay has no inherent strength when it is wet. It has a hard time fighting against gravity and can only hold itself upright as it dries. So you can only build so far before you have to let your work firm up in order to continue adding new clay or the added weight will pull it out of shape.

* Use two hands when you’re picking things up! Clay also has no strength or flexibility when it’s bone dry. May times I’ve seen students pick up a piece of dry work with one hand and snap! they’re left holding a small piece of clay with the rest smashed on the floor. If a piece is still soft and picked up with one hand, it will easily stretch out of shape or tear.

There are so many things to learn and remember when working with clay and this is just a small batch of tips to help make it easier. When you’re working with clay, you’re part of the history of humankind. We’ve been using this magical material for most of our history and I imagine we’ll continue for as long as we’re around!