Ceramics - Clay, cones and stilts, glaze, tools, brushes, ceramics books, and more

Purchase Guide: Ceramics

One of the oldest and most popular art forms in the world, ceramics encompasses all art created from clay bodies and fired at high temperatures into a rigid, ceramic form. Ceramics is a very versatile medium; nearly any three-dimensional object can be formed and fired in clay. Some ceramic pieces are intended as fine art, enjoyed purely for their aesthetic value, while other, more functional pieces fall more easily into one of the decorative, industrial, or applied arts.

Historically, the creation of ceramics has involved shaping a body of mineral-rich clay into beautiful or functional designs and baking them inside a kiln. Ceramic art made in this fashion has an extensive history, with some of the best known and beautiful examples of the art form stemming from ancient Chinese, Cretan, Greek, Roman, Persian, and Mayan artists. Ceramics has evolved a great deal since then, in both artistry and materials. Today, ceramic art is produced from a wide variety of materials, some of which contain no clay at all!

The fact that even primitive peoples were adept at ceramics proves that you don't have to buy a lot of expensive tools to work in the medium. The best tools for ceramics are simple shapes you can use to carve, trim, and form clay. MisterArt.com features everyday discounts on tools, clay, and everything you need to create ceramic art!

This buyer's guide is designed to help you to quickly and easily find the perfect art supplies for your ceramics project.

Clay

Clay has properties making it ideal for use in creating sculpture and pottery that have been exploited by cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization. Clay becomes plastic when wet, which makes it easy to form and shape. As it dries up, clay firms and hardens, allowing the artwork to be handled without being damaged. After being fired in high temperatures, clay is converted into a ceramic material, making the clay object's shape permanent.

Different clays containing different mixtures of minerals that are subjected to different firing conditions produce the three main different types of ceramics:

• earthenware,
• stoneware, and
• porcelain.

Many modern ceramicists also use polymer or artificial clays. Oftentimes these modern materials exhibit properties not found in natural clay, and some do not require firing. You can find discounts on all of these clays at MisterArt.com.

Cones

Cones are tools used in kilns during the process of firing ceramics that indicate that the kiln has reached a certain temperature. The cones, often used in sets, are placed inside of the kiln alongside the wares being fired and melt and soften when the kiln reaches a certain temperature. This way, they provide a visual reference of when the ceramics being fired have reached maturity and fully hardened, a process that requires varying degrees of time and heat.

Because it takes different ceramic objects different amounts of time and heat to mature, cones are manufactured to wilt at a variety of temperatures, as well. A universal number system has been established which indicates how fast and hot a cone will melt. The coolest cones are numbered 022 and the hottest cones bear the number 42.

Observation of the cones is used to determine when a kiln has reached a desired temperature. Some cones can even be arranged to trigger kiln controls, shutting the kiln off once it has reached or exceeded the necessary level of heat.

MisterArt.com supplies many different cones discounted every day!

Stilts

When ceramic works are being fired, kilns are packed using shelves and supports. As the kiln is packed for glaze firing, it's important to remember that the works shouldn't touch one another—the glaze can cause them to stick together. Glaze that drips from ceramic pieces on to the kiln shelves can also bond the piece to the kiln, which can make the artwork impossible to remove without damaging or destroying it. The best way to prevent this problem is by coating shelves with kiln wash and by using stilts, which elevate ceramic art out of direct contact with the shelf.

Most stilts feature small metal points on which the artwork rests during firing. These points can sometimes leave small marks on the work which will need to be ground down. The most common, multi-purpose stilts are tri- and quadrangular star stilts, which feature three or four points for your ceramic art to rest upon. There are all kinds of specialized stilts, though, that are designed to hold everything from vases to ladles to box lids and more during firing. MisterArt.com offers fast delivery on stilts suited to many different kinds of ceramics projects.

Glaze and Under-Glaze

After being fired, clay produces a variety of lovely and neutral tones that can really aid in bringing out certain pieces' character. Other works of art, however, call for bold colors, pretty patterns, or pleasant textures. Additionally, a finishing coating is necessary for earthenware vessels, which would otherwise be unable to hold liquids due to their porosity.

In these cases, glaze can be applied to ceramics. Glaze functions as both a sealant as well as a surface decoration. Glazes comprise glass-forming materials with added ingredients that determine the melting temperature and finished quality of the glaze, including gloss, matte, and color. Not unlike a cake mix that begins as a pale, unappetizing paste before being transformed into a golden sponge when baked, glaze mix rarely gives an accurate indication of its final fired color. It's always a good idea to fire a few test samples of a new glaze to get a better idea of what the finished piece will look like before applying it to valued artwork.

Decoration that is applied to ceramics under the final layer of glaze is known as under glaze. Typically, under glazes include opaque colors that are then finished by a final layer of wet glaze to complete the piece.

There are innumerable types of decorative glazes for ceramics, enough to satisfy artistic demands for both pottery and sculpture. You can find a great discounted selection at MisterArt.com.

Tools

Since the art of ceramics began in ancient cultures, artists have used both simple and sophisticated tools to help simplify and improve their sculpture and potting. Some of the best tools that can be used to shape ceramics are common household items, including files, hammers, nails, and other objects that can be manipulated to smooth, form, or imprint clay. However, in the millennia since ceramics were invented, a few specialized tools have been developed that are especially useful in working with clay and glazes.

Specialized tools used in the creation of ceramics include tools to cut and separate clay, tools to trim and sculpt sculptures, wheels to maneuver and spin pottery and figurines, pads and files to smooth fired pieces, even highly specialized tools such as wands to smooth the eye sockets of porcelain dolls to prepare them for the insertion of glass eyes. No matter what tool your project requires, you'll find the best price and quickest delivery by shopping at MisterArt.com.

Brushes

Brushes are an essential tool for applying most glazes. Longer, soft mop-like brushes are ideal for slapping on glazes; smaller, finer brushes are typically better for tiny details and under glazes. Brushes are also useful for cleaning away bits of clay as you carve or cut large pieces. Some brushes are highly specialized, such as brushes designed for stippling patterns or pin striping. Many of the brushes suited for glazing and other ceramics work are inordinately similar to paintbrushes. You can find them at MisterArt.com.

Books and Media

Not sure how to get started with ceramics? Wondering how to get your work to the next level? MisterArt.com carries several beautiful and informative books and other media on the subject that illustrate techniques and examples to inspire the work of ceramicists old and new. Whether you're looking to try a new form or simply add a few new skills to your repertoire, MisterArt.com can help you read to achieve!

Earthenware

Earthenware is one of the oldest materials used in ceramics. Red earthenware made from red clays is very familiar and recognizable, but earthenware is commercially produced and commonly available in several colors.

Typically, earthenware is bisque fired to temperatures in the range of 1000 and 1150 degrees Celsius (1800 and 2100 degrees Fahrenheit, and glost fired from 950-1050°C (1750 to 1925°F). Due to its higher porosity, earthenware must usually be glazed in order to be watertight.

Stoneware

Stoneware comprises essentially man-made stone pottery that became the most popular American houseware in the 19th Century. Its maturation temperature ranges from about 1200°C to 1315°C. It is usually colored grey or brown because of impurities in the clay used in its crafting, and is often glazed.

Glaze may be applied to stoneware pottery before a second firing at a different temperature, or a glaze may be applied before a single, raw firing.

Porcelain

Porcelain is typically composed mostly of clay in the form of kaolin. Kaolin, or China Clay, has a lower content of impurities than many other clays, producing porcelain's smooth, consistent texture.

Porcelain is fired to a vitreous state, transforming the constituent silica into glass. Typically this occurs in a kiln at temperatures between 1,200°C (2,192°F) and 1,400°C (2,552°F). The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation of glass and the mineral mullite within the fired body at such high temperatures.