It's really difficult not to like ceramics. The process of manipulating the clay is so calming and holding onto a fired piece, weeks after visualising it in the mind's eye is so gratifying. It helps the children to practise delayed gratification as there's no fast forward button. Just waiting for the clay to dry before bisque firing takes at least a week.
A few days before the class, I would add a small amount of water to the bag of 'fresh' clay to soften them and make ready to use. As beginners, the children started with making pinch pots. It's the foundation as it doesn't require any tools besides their hands. At this stage, they need to learn by feeling and knowing when the clay gets too dry/ wet. They need to constantly evaluate their pieces to prevent them from getting too thin or thick. For example, the rim of a cup has to be smooth otherwise a sharp edge can cut the lips. Sometimes, it's necessary to restart the whole process when the clay is beyond salvage. They need to know how to create a flat base so that it can be stable and perhaps functional. Art materials are finite so I told the children that any pieces that are deemed unsuitable would be recycled.
Glazes are magical. The colours turned vibrant after firing. In its raw form, they are a mixture of powder and water. The children to apply three layers of glazes onto the bisque-fired clay in order to achieve an even coat. Before I send them to the kiln, there is a need to check that the base of each ceramics pieces is glaze free.
There's always anticipation whenever I open the kiln. The children's hard work would have gone down the drain even if I have a have tiny air bubble lodged in one of the clay pieces while firing and an explosion would cause other pieces in close proximity to be damaged too. Thus, there needs to be a longer drying time when the clay pieces get bigger.
