Understanding Clay and Ceramics Techniques

Sep 3, 2024

Lecture on Ceramics: Introduction and Understanding Clay

Overview

  • Location: Meadows Pottery
  • Purpose: Recording lectures to provide students with access to materials for learning.
  • Format Change: Flipping the classroom approach with demos and lectures available as homework, allowing for more practical work during class time.

Course Structure

  • Target Audience: Academically minded students, not necessarily art majors.
  • Focus: Study of ceramics as a field with hands-on projects to reinforce concepts.
  • Ceramics 2 and 3: More freedom and creativity expected.

Technical Focus

  • Objective: Understand ceramics technically for creativity.
  • Cultural Tendency: Desire for quick advancement without groundwork.
  • Importance of Technical Knowledge: Necessary for creative choices due to ceramics' physical limitations.

Key Concepts

Clay

  • Chemical Formula: Al2O3 + SiO2 + H2O (Kalinite)
  • Characteristics
    • Abundant
    • Cheap
    • Easily accessible
  • Behavior: Clay is temperamental and independent.
  • Plasticity: Important for understanding the relationship between clay types and their uses.

Rules

  • Clay Does Not Care: It behaves independently and can dry out unexpectedly.

Plasticity and Shrinkage

  • Relationship: Direct correlation between plasticity and shrinkage.
  • Shrinkage:
    • 9% to bone dry
    • 12% to vitrification (becoming glass-like)

Tradition vs. Modernity

  • Historical Approach: Trial and error, traditions passed down.
  • Modern Approach: Use of science, electron microscopes, and scientific methods to eliminate superstition and understand variables.

Physical Properties of Clay

  • Particle Shape: Clay particles are shaped like platelets.
  • Water Role: Water around particles allows movement and defines plasticity.

States of Clay

  1. Wet Wear: High water content, particles widely spaced.
  2. Leather Hard: Some water evaporated, particles closer.
  3. Bone Dry: Minimal water, particles tightly packed.
  • Shrinkage Issue: Uneven shrinkage leads to cracking.

Designing Projects

  • Even Drying Crucial: Uneven drying leads to stress and cracks.
  • Example: Solid sculpture's exposed parts dry faster, causing differential shrinkage.

Conclusion

  • Understanding Physical Limits: Knowing the properties and limitations of clay is essential for successful projects.
  • Next Steps: Further exploration into clay's properties and uses in future lectures.