1. Ms. Arteaga Ceramics Projects

2. First Semester Lessons
Introduction to Ceramics, Studio Etiquette, Journal outlines
Pinch Methods: Pots, Decorative Spoons
Coil Building: Coil pot, Coil Mold, Blended Coil Pot/Pitcher
Slab Building: Line Design Slab Box (Zentacle), Slab (Candle) box with perferated designs, Twisted Slab Box,
Molds & Imprints: Slab plate mold,

3. Glazing and Construction 101

4. Second Semester Lessons
Introduction to the wheel
Wheel Projects:
Vases, Handles, Lids: Slab, Coil, Thrown
Abstract Art Pieces

5. It happens to everyone. A piece of greenware blows up, sending ceramic shards flying everywhere. You’re lucky if the explosion doesn’t take down other pieces in the process. A waste of clay and hard work… and tons of fun to clean up.
But why do pieces explode in the kiln? The culprit is too much moisture in your greenware. At 212°F degrees water turns into steam. The pressure from the steam, and nowhere for it to escape, causes the piece to explode. If there’s too much moisture in your greenware, especially moisture inside hollow air pockets within the clay, you run the risk of having your greenware explode.

6. 1. Air dry pieces for as long as possible
1. Air dry pieces for as long as possible. I know, depending on where you live, this is easier said than done. If you’re in an arid climate like Sante Fe, New Mexico, you probably don’t have a big problem with drying your pieces. But if you’re in a humid climate like Houston, Texas, it takes a while for greenware to dry out.
So how can you know if your piece still has too much moisture inside? Here’s two quick tests:
Put the greenware up to your cheek. Is it colder than room temperature? It still has too much moisture in it. Let it dry for longer.
Place the greenware on a sheet of paper. Does the paper wrinkle? If so, there is still moisture trying to escape the piece. Keep on letting it dry.

7. 2. Create a hole for steam to escape in hollow forms
2. Create a hole for steam to escape in hollow forms.When you build hollow forms, you need a hole for steam to escape. Otherwise a hollow piece without a hole can become a grenade in the kiln. While the clay is still leather hard, use a needle tool to make a small inconspicuous hole somewhere on the piece. If you forget and the piece is already bone-dry, just use a drill bit. Make sure the hole is large enough, so that when the clay naturally shrinks from moisture loss, the hole still remains big enough for steam to escape.
3. Don’t build thicker than 1 inch. Alright, I know this rule is breakable. It’s possible to fire a whole 25 pound bag of clay without explosions. But it takes some patience and a very long kiln firing time. But for most projects, less than 1 inch of clay thickness is a good rule of thumb. It lowers the risk of having pockets of air and moisture deep within the piece. Your pieces will dry faster and be less heavy after firing.
4. Fire using a long preheat. If you have a programmable electric kiln, use your preheat function. Most electric kilns can hold temperature at 180°-200°F for a programmable amount of time to allow moisture to evaporate from the greenware before the kiln heats up past 212°F. Consult your kiln’s manual for more details on how to program the pre-heat.
5. Fire slow. This works for both older cone firing kilns and newer programmable electronic kilns. When in doubt about the dryness of the piece, fire slow. On newer electronic kilns – consult your manual for the slowest programmable speed. For example, on a SKUTT kiln, this would be the “slow” button when using cone fire mode. On older kilns that use a cone to fire and a switch to control time, start with the kiln on low for 4 hours, medium for 3 and then switch to high until the cone melts.

8. Tips
I have used vinegar in my slip for a couple of years it works magic glue on all the elementary school pieces. 720 and I only lost one monsters arm!
As an ceramics teacher, my first year, I lost tens of pieces to explosions! So I always “pre-bake” the bisque-fire clay pieces on top of a firing kiln. It saves energy because I am using the heat from the kiln, but it’s diffused by the actual walls of the kiln. Haven’t had an explosion since I learned this trick. If you let the clay dry naturally it could take weeks to dry.

9. Glazing
Low Fire / Cone (1745°F to 2012°F). The most common form of the clay used and found throughout the world. This includes all earthenware clays that remain porous (able to absorb water) and do not vitrify (become naturally watertight).  Think terra cotta flower pots or Italian majolica pottery.
Mid Range / Cone 5 or 6 (2150°F or 2260°F).  Stoneware bodies that were developed to vitrify and be as durable as traditional cone 10 stoneware. Excellent for use in electric kilns.
High Fire / Cone 10 (2200°F -2320°F). Includes traditional stoneware and porcelain that mature at a high temperature. It is best used in wood firing or gas reduction kilns to achieve special glaze effects not possible at lower temperatures.
These three ranges are by no means the only temperatures that artists work in. Potters like Steven Hill work at cone 7-8 in electric kilns. A few artists have been doing innovative research by “vitrifying” earthenware clays at cone 3. And of course, many wood fire potters push their work to cone 11 and beyond.
Starting with the three ranges, earthenware, mid-range, and high-fire, is a good way to begin exploring ceramic work that appeal to your aesthetics.

10. Glaze all the interiors of your pots first by pouring the glaze in, then rolling it around for complete coverage. For complex pieces requiring a number of glazing steps, glaze the insides the day before to give you a drier surface to work with, especially for brushing.

11. Waxing/Dipping

13. Pinch Pots

17. Pinch items

18. Sgraffito

19. Coil Pots

25. Slab Pots

26. Zentacle Slabs

28. Ceramic Art Lesson Plan: Slab-Built Plates with Textured and Stenciled Decoration
Goal Using slab-forming and a ready-made slump mold to make plates that become great canvases for surface decoration. • Roll out a good even slab. • Experience different stages of plastic clay (wet, soft leather hard, firm leather hard, bone dry) and what the clay is capable of at each stage. • Become familiar with simple slump molds and start to consider the form and function of their work. Learn how to handle clay in a direct and intentional way. • Learn finishing, embellishing and glazing techniques, including experiments with paper stencils, slip decoration, underglaze design work, and using found objects as stamps.

29. Making slab plates is a great way to develop basic slab techniques, and using Chinet® plates for forms makes this an easy project. They also make perfect surfaces for exploring decorating techniques.

32. Pennsylvania Redware platter, 12 inches in length
Pennsylvania Redware platter, 12 inches in length. The design was created using a sgraffito technique then bisque fired to cone 04. Selected areas were then glazed with a green copper oxide glaze then overglazed with a commercial clear glaze and fired to cone 06 in an electric kiln.

33. Making the Clay Bisque Mold Once you’ve found or made a drape form, you’re ready to start making your bisque mold on top of it. Roll out a slab of clay about ¼-inch thick and place it over your drape mold (figure 1). If your drape form is glass or metal, place a piece of plastic wrap between the form and the clay to keep the slab from sticking. Cut and smooth the bottom edge so that it’s a straight, even and level line, following the base of the form.

34. Wheel
Centering, hand/arm positioning
Pulling lids, handles

41. A teapot family of four. Throwing multiple teapots at once gives you the chance to play with variations in form, texture, decoration and color.

46. Ceramic Art Lesson Plan: Ink Transfers on Clay
Goals
Learn to roll out slabs of clay to create tiles.
Draw or create simple line drawings using water soluble ink or using Adobe Photoshop to alter existing images to make self portraits.
Learn to transfer designs to soft clay tiles using inkjet printouts of line drawings or simple images. Trace these lines to create a relief outline. Put multiple tiles together for larger images.
Add color to the bisqued tile using underglazes.

47. Fig.1 A freshly rolled slab and a print
Fig.7 Allow slab to dry.

49. I prefer to apply commercial underglazes after bisque firing because at this stage, the image is essentially a contour drawing similar to a coloring book. (Make sure you test any glazes or underglazes you use.) Apply underglazes one color at a time beginning with the lightest colors (figure 11) since you can cover mistakes with darker colors. Bisque fire to fuse colors to the surface. You can fire the tile between each application of color, or in this case, I applied three colors at one time before firing. After bisque firing, apply a black underglaze to the entire surface filling all the lines (figure 12) and wipe off excess with a sponge (figure 13).

50. Apply wax resist to any areas to remain unglazed
Apply wax resist to any areas to remain unglazed. Use a clear crackle raku glaze on the face and all areas previously coated with underglaze. Because I’m using a white stoneware clay body the face fires out relatively white. The final portrait tile maintains the expression of the original photograph.