♦ CLASS :: Ceramics ♦

ok in this class i can help and tell you how to make ceramic vessals and i encourage you to take this class either in college or highschool its a really fun class

Honestly i havent used air dry clay before soo if ur gunna use it read instructions first

1. what really is Ceramics, Ceramics is art of clay pottery.
2. the things you need are:
i. Self Hardening Air Dry Modelling Clay OR Oven Safe Modelling Clay
ii. kitchen oven

<--- dont pay attention if u want the ez way

in highschool the tools ive used are: the loop tool , forks, knives, wooden tool, tin scraper, and a needle tool last but not least u need a wire to cut clay pieces loop




but heres some simple tools u can make/get
loop tool - get paper clips and shape it to one of the loops tools u see on 2nd pic but u might hav 2 hammer some to make it flat cause loop tools hav either a round edge or flat edge for cutting
needle tool - use a skewer or tooth picks
clay cutter - 2 dowels and fishing line tie the line to the 2 dowels
tin scraper - get a plastic portfolio make sure its not too thin and not too thick and then cut a piece out of it that looks excatly like the one in the 1st pic (the ones that make the fake thunder noises hehe)
wooden tool - (sry idk what u can use to make this one might hav 2 buy this one but if i think of one ill scratch this out; u might not need this tool if ur using air dry modeling clay

Ceramic Terms:
Knead[ing] - [to] squeeze out the air pocket within the clay or beat the clay by throwing clay on a surface that maintains moisture and plasticity or by using palms with force to push the air pockets out

cross-hatch[ing] - using the needle tool on the clay to indent lines within the clay either goin ////// on one side and \\\\\\ on the other piece but the required "clay paste"(forgot the real term but ill chancge 8r) is needed

plasticity - keeping clay nice and moist (not too wet or ull hav mud) [water might not be needed if ur using air dry clay]
WARNING: if u have air pockets withing the clay and u fire/bake it ur vessal will explode soo knead properly

Slab: a vertical cut from the clay (the clay that is either made or is original color that is shaped as a box)

Methods:
Pinch Method: roll a ball of clay in ur hand and then pierce the ball with ur thumb but not completely thru. then pinch the ball and rotate @ the same time with ur 4 fingers and ur thumb creating a 1/4" thickness (u can try 1/8" thickness"). while rotating the ball within ur palm and the thumb within the small bowl, you will see the walls getting thinner and the bowl getting bigger

Coil: getting a ball of clay and rolling it on a surface to make a string of clay with your hands flat but while rolling it out ur hands must hav a rocking-motion and pushing the coil outwards becareful some part of it may thin out and break apart and youll hav a shorter coil than the rest all coils must be equal when you make a coil vessal

Agate: P1: you get 2 colors of chosen clay and knead the 2 colors 2gether
P2: when kneading u roll the clay inward and when it gets longer on the sides roll the sides inward repeat up to 4-6 times if u knead too long the colors with blend and form some weird color
P3: when done kneading throw the clay around and shape it into a 3D box and get ur clay cutter slice a slab off and see what ur surprise of design is

(will increase in size and updated pictures will b uploaded soon)

heres some realy clay made vessels ive made during my jr year

this one is called Agate (Ah-gah-teh)

this is a plate a made but i failed on the smoothness and perferction but good decor

sorry i 4got what this was called but i simply pasted the characters that are made of clay onto it

this is open art where you carve holes of any shape into the pot

Oh My! This looks soo interesting! I love the..third picture..It looks really simple..but..nice! A question if you don't mind..What's the name of the spinning thing?..You know, where people put the clay on top of it and spins them around and around to shape the clay.. Do people still use that thing nowadays? Is that thing even part of ceramics? Hihi..Gomen..I'm completely clueless about ceramics..

omoshirosoo da naa. i've made a few things back in highschool. i made a small fountain and some small jars but the small ones broke on the way home from the bus ride.

wow..sugoi ne~ ii wan to learn..xD..tat looks so cool~
btw, love the 3rd pic!!~ ^^

amazing....~~ ahaha......i loove the 3rd pic t0o...^^
and also the 1st one...^^ so nice.....
can anyone teach me??

well sorta theres only one type of clay ive worked with which is the real one the grey one youve seen ppl on art mags use and ive used recycled clay which is dried up clay or pots that shattered during the firing process and mixed with water and turned to mushie clay but work-able clay its really thing tho and ez 2 mess up on recycles clay but theres like grey cay with is the commonly used ones and the red/brown clay the hard type

but if u dont want to buy those u can use the multi-colored air dry clay where u can use a kitchen oven to harden it where as for the real clay u need a big kiln to harden it

ne!~ i walked home hehe 5 min pwr walk home carrying them was a pain but lol i wrapped them with newspapers and stuff to keep safe

i can ill explain tomorrow soo expect this class one more!

thx and all i can say about the 3rd pic is that it says today's. . . . idk the rest i copied the characters from a green tea tag AHAHA

ahh..i didn't have this class in my high school....but we did something like tht using newspaper and glue if i'm not mistaken..lol..this actually nothing to do with ceramics... just want to ask u..what actually u use that Agate for? just for deco? it's look slightly like chocolate to me...lol

lol my teacher's kiln was acting wierd soo she cooked it too long it was suppoed to come out red and white and yea its more decor and style

actually, i completely forgot i had them in my bad and just threw mag bag on the floor of the school bus. when i got home i had clay dust and shards all inside my bag.

zanen da yo shoulda been careful

woah this class is sooo interesting!!!!