“…failure with clay was more complete and more spectacular than with other forms of art. You are subject to the elements… Any one of the old four – earth, air, fire, water – can betray you and melt, or burst, or shatter – months of work into dust and ashes and spitting steam. You need to be a precise scientist, and you need to know how to play with what chance will do to your lovingly constructed surfaces in the heat of the kiln.” ~ The Children’s Book
I have a friend who is all in on pottery, and she shared a small part of her knowledge with me last week. But first, let’s take a look at the history of this art.
Buckle up; this ride is longer than usual. You might want to pace yourself.
When did it start?
As I have not even a scrap of knowledge about pottery’s past, I had no choice but to look it up. According to How Stuff Works, pottery-making dates back 10,000 years* during a period when humans were making a transition from nomadic life to farming. That is, planting crops which sometimes required more water than the clouds were sharing. Of course, in some areas, humans had been weaving baskets for far longer – going back 40,000 years. But baskets weren’t the best for holding water. Makes me wonder about Moses. Maybe they could float even if they couldn’t hold water? But I digress.
The human race has adapted for ages, as it did in this case. Humans used what was at hand, which was clay. Plenty of it, at least in the Middle East and Africa where some say the practice started. Back then though, pottery was created solely for function and was devoid of decoration. Also, the process was unrecognizable compared to today’s methods. The referenced article tells us that “early pots were built by stacking rings of clay, which were then smoothed out and fired in a hole in the ground, under a bonfire.” Sounds a lot simpler than today’s process, but the final product was not as lovely, for sure. More on that shortly.
The process became somewhat smoother with the introduction of the slow wheel, about 5,000 years ago. While it was an improvement, it still required an assistant to turn the wheel. With the invention of a fast wheel (addition of a flywheel and longer shaft), the potter could kick the wheel, while shaping the clay with one hand and using the other to set the speed of the wheel.
As I mentioned earlier, the first pottery objects were intended for function and were not decorative. Greece is credited with the first artisans who decorated their vessels, about 1000 BC. They also experimented with colors from natural sources such as ochre and potash. Again, the smartest among us have always found ways to use available resources to solve problems – or to bring ideas to fruition.
The next innovation was glazing, about 2,000 years ago, thanks to the Chinese culture. You see, as thick and sludgy as clay is, it’s still porous, so eventually liquid will seep through. Glazing stops that.
And then when electricity was available in the late 19th century, electric wheels made the process super simple. Nah. But it did foster consistency and less leg work. Today about 70-80% of kilns and wheels are electric, but there’s also a gas kiln version for industrial applications.
*Note this is only one source. Other sources may indicate other timelines and other locations, just like the history of coffee in my March 16th post.
Samples of Debbie's work
And who wants to play in the mud?
The answer to the above question is, “More than I thought” at about 43,000 in the U.S., according to Career Explorer. However, I don’t know if those 43,000 are in the business (full-time), or if hobbyists are included. In any case, I do know a hobbyist, Debbie, and she was kind enough to answer a few questions. She offered up an amazing amount of detail, which I will paraphrase for your benefit.
Debbie has been interested in the craft for about 30 years, maybe a little more. The movie Ghost may have had something to do with it. Probably. Her first foray into creating an item from start to finish was during a pause in her career. She had the opportunity to attend a parks & recreation Wheel Throwing class and she was immediately smitten.
So I asked, her “Where do you start? Do you get to choose what you create?” Debbie laughed, since the first skill necessary is centering the clay and working it into a cylinder. Forget notions of whipping up a platter with handles and decorative leaves. Your first product will probably be a basic bowl since the force of the wheel facilitates the movement of the clay outwards.That is, a bowl is easy compared to almost anything else. Newbies can expect to fail many times, at least in the first few months. The learning curve is steep for this step in the process (centering) and only repeated attempts will improve the skill level. It took Debbie about 18 months before she was confident that once she started a project, she could get it centered and finished. But once you learn to create a cylinder, something symmetrical, you can move on to more complicated projects. Start to finish, though, here are the steps, simplified:
- Start with about a pound of wet clay and the wedging process, something like kneading dough. Work the air out of it, which activates the chemicals.
- Slam a ball of wet clay on the wheel onto the wheel head using force or by throwing it onto the head.
- Center the clay with the wheel spinning fairly quickly. Do this by wetting your hands and putting them both on your clay ball. While it spins, you push to the center. Sometimes it will be a no-go and you’ll have to start over. Sometimes it’s user error, but it could be a problem with the wheel.
- Open it up.
- Pull the walls.
- Shape it.
- Smooth it out with sponges and other tools of the trade.
- Let it set until there’s no shine and/or it’s leather hard. Some variables impact how long, but overnight at a minimum.
- Fire it – the first round is a bisque fire, at cone 05, and no. I’m not going to explain it because I can’t, but click here to learn more.
- Leave it for about 12 hours. You might fire more than one item at a time; sizes of kilns vary greatly.
- Do not remove items until they cool.
- Glaze* with color** to make the object food-safe and water-tight, oven and microwave-safe.
- The following day, fire the object again. This will be a hotter fire, but only for 8-9 hours.
*Potters use a powder (made from ground glass, colorant, and chemicals), and add water until the right consistency is achieved.
**Chemicals can be added to common clay to change the color & consistency of the clay itself – this is entirely separate from the color for glazing.
a Brief glossary and A few loose ends
On to a few definitions:
- Centering is compressing clay into a mound, always with wet hands, resting your hands on the side and top. When you feel no movement, the clay is centered.
- Kilns are special, insulated ovens that may reach temperatures exceeding 2000°.
- Open the clay by making a hole in the center of the clay ball using your fingers and pressing downward. Continue widening the hole until it becomes the inside of the vessel.
- Pulling the walls and shaping is done with one hand inside the opening and one outside. Push your fingers together slowly and easily while the wheel spins and your hands rise. This can be done several times until the object reaches the desired height.
- The wheel head is the revolving piece mounted on the center of the wheel.
- When an object is squared up, it looks the same from all sides.
By taking a look at the first set of bullet points that lists steps, you probably could hazard a guess that the process is time-consuming. Debbie indicated that the average project takes about two to three weeks. Her most popular type of vessel to make–and sell–is a cup or mug because they make great gifts.
Debbie’s biggest challenge these days is deciding what to make next, but the glazing phase can be problematic. That is, will she like how it comes out? I equate that to how I felt when I chose the paint colors for our house five years ago and was holding my breath until I could see if the choices were right. However, even for an accomplished potter, centering can be a tremendous challenge. Some days it’s just not happening. I’ve seen Debbie’s work up-close and personal and I think her good days surely far outnumber the not-so-good.
Is this my next hobby?
Not a chance. In the first place, I can’t stand for my hands to be wet, much less dirty. However, learning more about this art has given me a new appreciation for even the tiniest of pottery articles. Seriously, this is a long process, one which can go haywire at any step. I can’t even imagine my dismay if I tried this and, for example, I didn’t wait long enough to fire it or made errors in the glazing process. It isn’t like baking a cake that falls. You just whip up another one. Same day. So apart from my weird I-don’t-want-to-be-wet thing, I don’t think my heart could take the stress.
You?
Me either! Crafty I am not. We bought a beautiful bowl with a handle and small spout in San Antonio . The market was run by indigenous peoples and sold their crafts. Now I have a greater appreciation for their art and skill. Thanks. BTW check out Exodus 2:3.
Thanks, Lee. It was really lazy of me not to check out the greatest source ever. After I read it just now, I remember reading about the pitch before. It just didn’t stick. Sigh.
My only brush with pottery was in painting unaired ceramic figures that had been shaped by others. That was hard enough.
I recommend The Great Pottery Throwdown, 5 seasons available on MAX. It’s similar to The Great British Bake-off, but with pottery. I find it fascinating.
I’ll have to see if I can find it. Thanks for the recommendation!
Interesting. Had forgotten that I did a paper on ceramics in college and visited a couple of artists.More than meets the eye.
I’d love to see that paper. And see a video of your field trip. I can’t imagine the 20-year-old Nathan being fully engaged. I hope to be able to visit north GA in the not-too-distant future and observe Debbie. Had years to do that while I was there and didn’t. Missed easy opportunities.