9780130983480

This new edition of Working with Clay is substantially revised and redesigned to be even more specifically crafted to meet the needs of the beginning student of ceramics. It combines clear instructions with easy-to-follow pictures and inspires with its examples of a wide range of colorful ceramics throughout. bull; bull;Full color illustrations throughout bull;Clear, easy-to-follow steps, now with many more pictorial sequences bull;Suggested projects for the beginner bull;An inspirational chapter on the art of ceramics, ranging from masks and animals through walls and installations bull;A brief pictorial history of ceramics bull;A glossary of terms and a bibliography for further reading 494 full color photographs, including 150 new images

Preface to the First Edition

8

(1)

Preface to the Second Edition

8

(1)

The Safety Aspect

9

(2)

The World of Ceramics

11

(24)

Introduction

11

(1)

Clay and Pottery

11

(1)

The Aesthetic of Contemporary Claywork

12

(4)

Functional vs Sculptural

16

(1)

Types of Ceramics

17

(5)

Earthenware

17

(2)

Stoneware

19

(2)

Porcelain

21

(1)

What is Clay?

22

(1)

What is a Clay Body?

23

(2)

Paperclay

25

(5)

Alternative clays and additions: paperclay for kilns

26

(4)

Why Mix Your Own Clay Body?

30

(1)

Methods of Mixing Clay Bodies

30

(1)

Storing the Clay

31

(1)

How important is fired shrinkage and absorption?

31

(1)

How to reclaim scrap clay

31

(1)

What is Glaze?

32

(1)

Firing Ceramics

33

(2)

The Craft of Working with Clay by Hand

35

(32)

Getting Started

35

(1)

Tools for Working

36

(1)

Wedging Clay

36

(1)

Building by Hand: Introduction

36

(3)

Hand-building Techniques

39

(17)

Pinching clay

39

(1)

Coil method, smooth or textured

39

(4)

Slab building

43

(7)

Using an armature

50

(1)

Drape in a hammock

51

(1)

Over-the-hump slab building

51

(2)

Ceramic sculpture

53

(3)

Learning from Techniques Used by Indigenous Peoples

56

(1)

Methods of forming

56

(1)

Altering While Building

56

(3)

Changing clay surface

56

(2)

Coloring with mineral/vegetable matter

58

(1)

Working with Plaster

59

(2)

How to make a mold

60

(1)

Make Your Own Casting Slip or Buy It Ready-made

61

(3)

How to Mix Plaster and Pour a Form

64

(3)

Throwing on the Potter's Wheel

67

(32)

Anyone can Learn to Throw...

67

(1)

To the Beginner

68

(1)

Steps in Throwing on the Potter's Wheel

69

(3)

Wedging

69

(1)

Position at the wheel

70

(1)

Centering

70

(1)

Opening the ball

71

(1)

Practice These Five Shapes

72

(7)

Pull up and shape a cylinder

72

(1)

Half-spherical shape

73

(1)

Full spherical shape

74

(4)

Sphere and cylinder combined

78

(1)

Low open form

78

(1)

Other Shapes are Variations

79

(5)

Pitcher

79

(1)

Handles

80

(1)

Casserole

81

(1)

Lids

81

(2)

Teapot, coffee-pot

83

(1)

Sets

84

(1)

Closed form

84

(1)

Do-nut

84

(1)

Throwing off the hump

84

(1)

Trimming

84

(1)

Large Forms

85

(14)

Finishing Touches

99

(30)

Enhancing the Clay Form

99

(1)

Decorating with Clay

99

(8)

Texture

99

(2)

Adding clay to clay

101

(2)

Engobes

103

(1)

Engobe techniques

103

(4)

Testing and Using Glazes

107

(1)

Glaze composition

107

(1)

Calculating glaze formulas

107

(1)

Why Make Your Own Glaze?

107

(1)

Coloring Glazes

107

(3)

Glaze stains and oxides

107

(1)

Basic glaze batches for low, medium, high temperatures

108

(1)

Reds, yellows, and oranges

109

(1)

Mixing and Storing Glazes

110

(1)

Glaze Application

110

(2)

Methods

110

(2)

Decorating with Glaze

112

(4)

Sample Commercial Glazes

116

(1)

Glass is a Ceramic Material

117

(4)

Keep records

119

(2)

Experimentation

121

(1)

Line blends

121

(1)

Glaze Improvizations

121

(8)

Firing Ceramics

129

(24)

Heat Principles

129

(1)

Kilns

130

(3)

Gas kilns

132

(1)

Electric kilns

133

(1)

Commercial Ready-made Kilns

133

(2)

Why Build Your Own Kiln?

135

(1)

Firing Principles

136

(1)

Temperature Indicators

137

(1)

Guide-posts for temperature

138

(1)

Pyrometric Temperature Devices

138

(1)

Oxidation and Reduction Atmospheres

138

(3)

Copper reds

140

(1)

Iron celadons and tenmokus

141

(1)

Stacking and Firing Kilns

141

(2)

Bisque firing

141

(1)

Glaze firing

142

(1)

Alternative Firings

143

(8)

Pit firing

143

(1)

Raku firing

143

(3)

Salku firing

146

(1)

Salt firing

146

(1)

Soda firing

147

(1)

Wood firing

147

(4)

Glaze and Firing Problems

151

(2)

The Art of Ceramics

153

(27)

From Idea to Art

153

(27)

Pots and plates

154

(2)

Birds and animals

156

(2)

Figures

158

(5)

Walls

163

(5)

Mixed media

168

(2)

Sculpture

170

(4)

Installations

174

(6)

The Timeless World History of Ceramic Art

180

(8)

Compendium

188

(8)

Suggested Projects for Individual Work

188

(1)

Decide on general procedure

188

(1)

Suggested Projects for Beginning Hand-building

189

(1)

Progression of Individual Steps in Throwing

190

(1)

Suggested Projects for Clay, Glaze, and Decoration Experiments

191

(1)

Body and glaze development

191

(1)

Decoration

191

(1)

Design standards to keep in mind

191

(1)

Experimenting with Material Additions to a Base Glaze

191

(1)

Glaze Improvizations

192

(1)

Glaze ``Line-blend'' Test

192

(1)

Special Low-fire Information

193

(1)

Egyptian paste

193

(1)

Colors for Egyptian paste

193

(1)

Mosaic cement

193

(1)

Low-fire engobe

193

(1)

Example of a Pottery Studio

194

(1)

Terms Easily Mixed Up

194

(1)

Temperature Equivalents of Orton Cones

195

(1)

Temperature Equivalents of Seger Cones

195

(1)

Glossary

196

(3)

List of Artists

199

(4)

Information Sources

203

(1)

Bibliography

204

(1)

Photo Credits

205

(1)

Index

206

What is included with this book?

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PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION, 1998 I have written this book to inspire and to teach the beginner about working with clay through colorful photographs and anecdotal descriptions of the various processes involved. I also aim to appeal to the collector, who can make use of this analysis to gain an indepth perspective on historical and contemporary ceramics. The practical photographs are set off by copious illustrations of what can be achieved, from everyday items such as plates and bowls to international examples of the potter's art such as sculpture and site installations. Beginner students and all those who appreciate the art of ceramics will find many illuminating insights into this endlessly fascinating world. My long career as a professor of ceramic art and a practicing potter has enabled me to pass on the benefits of my experience to students and aficionados at all levels. I have five books in print, apart from this one:Shoji Hamada, A Potter's Way and Work; The Living Tradition of Maria Martinez, Lucy M. Lewis, American Indian Potter, The Craft and Art of Clay; Pottery by American Indian Women.I have a video in circulation from film made at Hamada's studio in 1970 when I did the notes for his book, and a series of 54 videos on ceramics, called "Wheels, Kilns, and Clay." Thanks are due to the many artists all over the world who have helped me with suggestions and by sending me their own examples. I am grateful to Laurence King, Lee Ripley Greenfield, Judy Rasmussen, Janet Pilch, and the staff at Calmann & King in London who package the book; to Elisabeth Ingles, my editor, and Karen Stafford, who designed the book; to Craig Smith, who photographed the process shots of me working in my studio, to Bud Therien at Prentice Hall, and to Overlook/Viking. I also acknowledge the help and encouragement of my three children, Jill Peterson Hoddick, Jan Sigrid Peterson, and Taag Paul Peterson, plus five grandchildren, Annah Gerletti, Kayley Hoddick, Alexander and Calder Peterson, and Augustus John Gerletti. I would not have got so much done without assistants Nori Pao, Judith Schreibman, and Tony Mulanix. Finally, a fond remembrance and deep gratitude to my deceased parents, Iva and Paul Harnly, and my late husband Robert Schwarz Jr. SUSAN HARNLY PETERSON Carefree, Arizona, June 1998 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, 2002 Since 1998 I have published five more books: the second edition of this one,Working with Clay; the third edition of The Craft and Art of Clay; Contemporary Ceramics; Smashing Glazes;andJun Kaneko-- quite an output! March 2002 sees the establishment of the Susan Harnly Peterson Ceramic Archive and Study Collection in the Ceramic Research Center of the Nelson Art Museum of Arizona State University. We hope many of you will add to this beginning. I am grateful to all you artists over the globe who send me your images, invite me to lecture in your schools and conferences, and aid in countless other ways. Helpers on this edition include my children and grandchildren, and my assistants Lucy Horner and Jarilyn Mason (daughter of John and Vernita). K.C. O'Connell, my studio assistant, made the new clay and glaze tests. My friend and remarkable photographer Craig Smith took the process and test photos. I am grateful to the same team as before at Laurence King Publishing, London. This edition has increased in length, to include modifications and new techniques. Much is changing in the ceramic world. I see fewer purely functional pots except in folk cultures -- we all want to decorate and invent forms! More use of prepared clay and commercial glazes is apparent, but there is a return to basics in building your own kilns, in old-fashioned firings such as wood, oil, raku, pit, salt, and to prospecting your own materials. We are grasping for ever larger scale, for mixed media combinations, for room-or building-size

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Working With Clay

Working With Clay

0130983489

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