Bruce the Chef

By: Mitch Johnson

Before you start making ceramic, it is important to collect all the
tool and material needed for your work. Take a tip from this article on
what are the things to be collected and how to get prepared.

There is a vast variety of tools and a equipment now available to the
ceramics hobbyist. Suppliers catalogues are jam-packed with
paraphernalia for the amateur workshop. After paging through one of
these catalogues, the beginner is apt to be over impressed with the
necessity for fancy tools and equipment. Fact is, however, that very
few implements are can’t-do-without for the beginning ceramist.

A working surface covered with a piece of oilcloth, wrong side up; one
or two simple modeling tools, a knife, and about five pounds of clay
are all you need to start shaping your first object. The cost of these
is negligible. Most clay, for example, can be bought from retail
dealers at about 15 cents a pound.

Build your collection of tools slowly, adding items as you need them.
It is likely that you will do your first clay-craft in a local studio
or classroom, under the guidance of a professional teacher. It is not
probable that you’ll begin sculpting or casting your own pieces in a
mold. Instead, you will be supplied with green ware, a fettling knife,
brushes, colors and glazes. You will remove the mold marks from the
greensward, smooth the surface, add some decoration and glaze. Then the
professional ceramist will fire it for you in his kiln.

After you have learned to do this, which should not take more than one
or two lessons, you may want to take the green ware home and finish it
there. In all likelihood, you will buy the few necessary tools from
your teacher. This will be the start of your own home workshop.

Of course many new ceramists begin by immediately furnishing a complete
studio, from clay to kiln. In most cases this is not advisable for two
reasons. First, there are financial considerations which would
frustrate this grandiose plan of action for most people. Second, it is
more prudent to wait and see what type of equipment is best suited to
your personal needs and desires. The clay worker who wants to
specialize in hand-sculpture will not require the very same tools and
materials as the one whose skills and fancy lean toward pottery.

When you select a site for your workshop, make certain it is not
exposed directly to extremes of heat or dampness. Good lighting is also
important, contributing both to the ceramist’s comfort and to the
quality of his work. Running water, or easy access to water, is also
desirable. Until you start to accumulate a sizable collection of tools
and equipment, and want to set up your own workshop, your kitchen
should serve the purpose.

Many tools you will be able to make easily for yourself; others you
will find already at hand about the house. No matter how far you
advance in the ceramics art, you’ll find the most useful tools are your
fingers. Every other modeling device is employed simply to supplement
the work that can be done with your hands. When shaping a piece of
clay, tools will only assist your fingers. They will not accomplish
anything that can’t be done with your fingers.

About the Author:

Mitch Johnson is a regular writer for www.curtains-n-drapes.com/ , www.urceramicsguide.info/ , www.ezceramicsguide.info/

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