Art and Design A comprehensive guide for creative artists - Aaltodoc

. Porosity of clay is determined by conditions and the
state at which moisture escapes in the course of drying,
or at the early stages of burning the clay artwork. “Clay
must be able to absorb water in air and other fluids. It
must be able to 'breathe.' This quality is necessary in
order that the clay dry without cracking before firing.”
(Digolo et. al 1990, 117) Distinctly, then, on greenware
the conditions and level of drying lean on the amount
of water absorbed and the provisions in which it can
escape. If the surface pores are large, water will escape
rapidly.
c. Plasticity of clay predominantly refers to the quality
of easy moulding or shaping without tearing to turn
or form a useful pottery and other artworks. Muller
(2007) notes, “Clay’s plasticity is often contingent on its
moisture content. A good way to check for plasticity
in clay is to roll a coil in your hand and bend it.” If it
shows cracks and/or “falls apart then it is not plastic.”
Nonetheless, plasticity is different from elasticity—in
which clay can revert back to its muddy wetness.
d. Shrinkage of clay happens in two stages; when pottery
is drying and when it is being fired—depending on
the amount of water it contains. Nevertheless, at every
stage, clay contains a certain quantity of water, which
allows particles to combine or get together to form
one hard substance. Peterson et al. (2003, 24) say, “...
clay does not dry completely at room temperature.
Additional evaporation and shrinkage take place
during firing.” That is to say, when pottery starts to dry,
water evaporates through small pores or spaces. Hence
causing shrinkage.
Materials and tools used in pottery
In Peterson et al.'s (2002, 26) Tools for Working; “Potters can
use many tools, or just a few, or none. Most clay artists make
collections all their lives of various tools—or objects that
will function as tools-from the hardware store, from their
attics and garages.”
Thereby, as creative artists conducting school tasks we
can as well make pottery artworks by using simple tools or
object from the surroundings of our school environment.
Here is a checklist of some tools, materials and equipment
that may be used to make functional pottery artworks:
Basic clay tools and their use
Are used for cleaning unwanted clay off the
surface of a pottery ware during decoration.
Brushes can also be locally acquired by tying
well laid small neaten sisal bundles, on a small
piece of stick.
It has got a cylindrical shape. Some of its
basic tasks include making slabs as well as
decorating them. A simple rolling pin can be
locally made from a (cylindrical) smoothened
straight stick or a sizable (portable) piece of
wood.
It is used for washing, cleaning and finishing;
after throwing or shaping a clay artwork. Yet,
even when a workspace or studio is saturated
with water, a sponge can be used to absorb
some of the dispersed liquids.
This is a wire tool used for slicing clay during
wedging and on a wheel after throwing. It
should be kept clean or be wiped every after
use. By the way, a smaller—strong string can
be put to use for this purpose in case there is
no wire for this particular task.
These are mainly shaped from hardwood and
plastics, in different shapes for smoothing,
shaping and finishing a pottery artwork
throughout throwing on a wheel. But they
can also be used on hand built pottery. Ribs
can be locally made or shaped from thrown
away pieces of wood.
This is mainly used to separate junk from
dry or wet clay. Dry clay can be sieved after
smashing it and wet clay be sieved after
turning it into a liquid consistency. Yet again,
by using a net or a mesh fabric of light weight
a sieve can be effectively created. Other
potters use wire mesh sieves.
206 207
Brushes
Rolling pin
Sponge
Wire clay
cutter
Throwing ribs
Sieve
Clay
Material, equipment and their basic tasks
It is one of the most essential materials of
pottery. It is a type of soil with exceptional
fine grains. It can be dried and baked. Clay
can also be recycled and moulded again
when wet. Sometimes red soil from ant-hills
is used for the same purposes. It is a good
replacement for beginners, where there is
scarcity.