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- Dec 3, 2017
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Has anyone else ever done any ceramics work?
I took a ceramics class in college, and one later at a community center. We made slab pots, pinch pots, and coiled pots in what is called hand built. I have also thrown a number of pots on a pottery wheel. My daughter has taken a ceramics class that focused on throwing pots on a pottery wheel.
When I lived in North Dakota, there was a large ceramics shop that had lots of green ware. I would go there and make things with friends. If you are unfamiliar with this type of ceramics, there are molds that are filled with more of a liquidy clay. It sets up and the mold is released. The product is called green ware. There are seams where the mold was put together and those need to be cleaned off. This was part of what I did in ND. After it was cleaned, and dry, it was fired in a kiln, a bisque firing. After it is bisque fired, you can paint the piece, stain it, or put on a glaze. With glaze, it gets another firing in the kiln.
In those days I made several nativity sets as gifts, as well as other pieces.
I hadn't even thought about green ware until recently when I was thinking about what big Christmas decoration I could work on next. One of my clients has a set of 3 ceramic Christmas trees, the kind with lights. I was thinking that would be a good project. I went to a ceramics store. There is no green ware now, it has already all been cleaned and had a bisque firing. No problem with that. I looked at their trees, and they had them in three sizes. The largest, about 18 inches was $190. That includes paint or glaze and an additional firing if desired. I like the larger tree, but wow! That is a lot. I don't remember the price of the middle size tree, but the smallest was $110 (I think).
It has been more than 40 years since I worked with green ware, but wow. The prices seem crazy to me. I have no memory of what I paid for the things I made all those years ago.
I took a ceramics class in college, and one later at a community center. We made slab pots, pinch pots, and coiled pots in what is called hand built. I have also thrown a number of pots on a pottery wheel. My daughter has taken a ceramics class that focused on throwing pots on a pottery wheel.
When I lived in North Dakota, there was a large ceramics shop that had lots of green ware. I would go there and make things with friends. If you are unfamiliar with this type of ceramics, there are molds that are filled with more of a liquidy clay. It sets up and the mold is released. The product is called green ware. There are seams where the mold was put together and those need to be cleaned off. This was part of what I did in ND. After it was cleaned, and dry, it was fired in a kiln, a bisque firing. After it is bisque fired, you can paint the piece, stain it, or put on a glaze. With glaze, it gets another firing in the kiln.
In those days I made several nativity sets as gifts, as well as other pieces.
I hadn't even thought about green ware until recently when I was thinking about what big Christmas decoration I could work on next. One of my clients has a set of 3 ceramic Christmas trees, the kind with lights. I was thinking that would be a good project. I went to a ceramics store. There is no green ware now, it has already all been cleaned and had a bisque firing. No problem with that. I looked at their trees, and they had them in three sizes. The largest, about 18 inches was $190. That includes paint or glaze and an additional firing if desired. I like the larger tree, but wow! That is a lot. I don't remember the price of the middle size tree, but the smallest was $110 (I think).
It has been more than 40 years since I worked with green ware, but wow. The prices seem crazy to me. I have no memory of what I paid for the things I made all those years ago.
