Ceramic Pottery Making Fun

For many, the first time they come across do-it-yourself ceramic pottery making is a ceramics class held at a local High School or Pottery Club in their area, usually as a night-class but sometimes during the day.

In truth many of these classes are really ceramic painting, as each student is given a bisque tile, pot or ornament to decorate as they wish. For those of you who don’t know, bique (or biscuit) is unglazed fired clay, usually fired at least 1000°C.

Ceramic painting in an art in itself and the results can be quite stunning. It is also a great way to test the waters of your ceramic pottery making. All the hard work of making the ceramic pottery is removed as these have been prepared before hand and all you have to do is select your piece and weld a paint brush to apply the glaze. Once the painting is finished the ceramic pottery is then baked in a kiln and after firing the true beauty is revealed.

Ceramic Painting is a great activity for kids as the completion of a small project such as tiles can be done within an afternoon, not including the firing. No special facilities are needed as all that is required is a work table, chairs, a selection of bique tiles, glaze paints and an assortment of differing sized paint brushes. Kids really get a kick out of having their finihed artwork hung in their room.

A kids ceramic painting opportunity can even be done in a craft fair situation as reported by the Reporter Herald of Loveland Colorado. A local Pottery Painter set a hands-on pottery painting booth in Loveland’s Sculpture, Art and Craft Show.

Of course ceramic painting is not limited to children. A couple of my friends enjoy doing ceramic painting classes. Their projects range from quite simple to the elaborate.

So if you are thinking about dabbling in ceramic pottery making why not give ceramic painting a go. Contact your local High School or Pottery Club to enquire about ceramic painting courses in your area and to get some great project ideas take a look at The Complete Guide to Painting on Porcelain & Ceramic

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Even the most creative artist sometimes get stuck for ideas. That’s one of the reasons I love going to craft fairs. Just walking around in such a creative atmosphere always gets the juices flowing.

So when does inspiration from someone else’s ceramic pottery making efforts become a forgery?

A recent article about the Burnsvile Craft Fair in the Valley Beautiful Beacon raised this question in my mind as I read the paragraph about a potter who works with basic ceramic pottery molds and adds her own touches to them.

Of particular interest to the writer was the ceramic pottery wine bottle coolers that were accented with grape-leaf impressions. A brilliant idea!

The writer assures us that they were quite stunning but alas she didn’t publish any photos because the lady was concerned that her idea would be forged. Read the full story here.

I have heard this concern voiced before by artisans and they have a valid point when you concider all the “knock-offs” that turn up in any given product market.

I think this is question that every artist must answer for themselves when inspired by other’s work.

For the home hobbyist, experimenting using another ceramic pottery maker’s idea isn’t so much of a problem as the finished work may only grace their home or the home of a friend or loved one.

However for the commercially minded ceramic pottery maker some sensitivity is required I think, especially if you are going to publish your work (on the internet as an example) for sale.

At the very least an ethical ceramic pottery maker would atribute their inspiration to the original artist and at the very most they would take the idea and develop their own unique application of the technique and make it their own.

Technorati Tags: Ceramic Pottery Making

Today I came across an article in the Dallas News about the Members of the Craft Guild of Dallas holding a Fundraiser to raise much needed funds for their facilities and teacher salaries.

The non-profit guild began in 1948 as a hub for artists in the Texas Fort Worth area and over the years introduced classes.

The current 400 members live and breathe ceramic pottery making, jewel making and metallurgy.

Suzy Badger, president of the guild, made a comment that we are losing touch with handcrafted art.

I think it is sad that something like ceramic pottery making is being left behind in the digital rat-race. It offers so much satisfation to the maker and would be owner of a piece of ceramic art.

Perhaps if more people got off the treadmill for awhile they would realise the can make money from their hand-crafts and we would all be a more happy and contented lot.

Good on them I say for taking the initiative to keep ceramic pottery making and other hand-crfted arts alive.

Read more about it here

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Ceramic Pottery Making has come a long way since it’s beginings in the dark mists of time. From the crude bowls and pots of ancient civilization long since gone to the modern masterful works of art that now grace our homes.

The soil around my childhood home was a heavy clay and although this made it a challenge to grow vegetables for my Dad, it was a mud pie bakers delight!

Who would’ve thought that my favourite pre-school penchance for making mud pies and leaving them in the sun to bake (much to my Dad’s dismay) would develop into my latest passion of ceramic pottery making.

My reawakening happened by chance when a work colleague invited me to join her on a short term ceramics night class at a local high school.

It didn’t take me long before I reaquainted myself with the delights of working with muddy hands, first with hand building and then with working the potter’s wheel.

It’s like returning once again to the innocence and creativity of childhood.

Technorati Tags: Ceramic Pottery Making