How to make a ceramic plate. Ceramic cookware - manufacturing technology, varieties, advantages and disadvantages, prices and reviews

Rice. 2. Forming products by hand

In modern artistic ceramics, decoration techniques are used, such as fire patination in an oxidizing and reducing environment, tinting and painting the product with salts and acids of metals, taken in pure form or introduced into the composition of colored engobe, glaze, and enamel.

The pottery wheel allows you to create symmetrical, evenly expanding or contracting vessels of various shapes. It consists of an iron vertical rod attached to the work table and two wooden circles - a large, lower one (diameter - 95-105 cm), and a small, upper one (diameter - 30-40 cm). The potter's wheel is driven by turning the foot of the lower wheel. The upper circle is the direct workplace on which the product is molded. In this case, some tools are needed: a wooden cutter, a piece of flat rubber, a walnut sponge, a metal stick, pieces of leather and plexiglass.

Rice. 3. Schemes of pottery wheels
Rice. 4. General view potter's wheel
Rice. 5. Tournette

Working on a pottery wheel requires virtuoso skill. Raw clay thrown onto a potter's wheel wet hands pulled into a cone. Pressing it from above with his hand, the potter lowers the mass down. This is repeated several times (to even out the texture of the clay mass). As a result of pressure with the thumb, the elongated lump is turned into a hollow cylinder. By passing the walls of the cylinder between two fingers, the body and neck of the product are turned out. Using a wooden cutter, the mass is given the required shape. During molding, your hands should be periodically moistened with water to enhance the gliding of your fingers. Having given the product a finished shape, it is smoothed with a wet sponge and a piece of rubber, after which it is cut off the potter's wheel with thin wire or twine and placed to dry - most often in the air. The product, dried to 19-20% humidity, is placed on the center of the upper circle, attached with a piece of clay, and corrected with appropriate tools; they are turned with a metal hook, smoothed with a wet sponge, and polished with plexiglass. If the product consists of several parts, they are glued together. Next comes decoration.

Rice. 4. Forming products on a pottery wheel

Casting in plaster molds is based on the ability of plaster to absorb moisture. The liquefied clay mass, the so-called slip, is poured into a plaster mold, the moisture is absorbed and after some time an even layer of clay forms at the walls of the mold. The mass gradually hardens, the dimensions of the molded product are reduced and the resulting semi-finished product is easily separated from the mold. Such products are loose and shrink significantly.

The next stage in the production of ceramics is drying. A freshly molded or poured product contains from 22 to 30% moisture - depending on the molding method. The drying process is different for different mass compositions: the fattier the clay, the longer it takes to dry. If the density of the shard is unequal, shrinkage occurs unevenly, which leads to the appearance of cracks and deformation. The shape of the product also matters: the larger its area, the faster it dries. There should be no drafts during drying. First, the product undergoes preliminary drying, at 19% moisture content it is decorated, and then final drying occurs.

DECORATION

Techniques for artistic processing of ceramic products are largely determined by the characteristics of the material and the properties of the clay. These are the paintings manually, engraving, sgraffito, flandrovka, “marble”, modeling, polishing, reserving and others.

painting - the most widely used method of artistic processing. They are painted with engobe - finely ground liquid clay, white or mixed with dyes. The engobe pattern is applied only to a damp shard (19-20% humidity). An overdried product cannot be painted, since the engobe falls off during drying and firing. When applying engobe to a very damp product (with a moisture content of 27-34%), add large number water and as a result the product may lose its shape. The product filled with engobe is painted using a pipette. The drawing is usually done along a schematic outline drawn with a finger or pencil, but the lines must be clear. Engobe is applied over them with a pipette. This method, although painstaking, requires skill and attention, but allows you to obtain unique products. When engraving and sgraffito, the product is filled with engobe in a color contrasting with the shard and dried to 14-15% moisture content. The outline of the design is lightly drawn with a pencil, then the engobe is scratched down to the shard with a special wooden or metal stick. This method produces a clear drawing. As in graphics, shading is made using the sgraffito method, which under the glaze creates wonderful iridescence of two colors.

When flanging, a product freshly filled with engobe is placed on a tournette. In the places where the design should be, a spiral is applied with a pipette with a contrasting engobe, and circles or 3-5 wavy lines of different colors are applied to it. In the depths of these lines, dashes or circles are made in the engobe in the same order as the wavy lines were made. Then, moving from bottom to top or vice versa (perpendicular to the wavy lines), lines are drawn that create a kind of pattern. Flyandrovka is an ancient painting technique. The flandrovka pattern cannot be obtained in any other way, but it can be quickly mastered.

When decorating a product using the “marble” method, it is first doused with colored engobe and placed on a tournette. With an engobe of other colors, lines are drawn vertically and, setting the tournette in motion, a spiral is drawn from bottom to top with a pipette, and the product is shaken.

“Marble” can also be obtained by applying shapeless spots to an engobe-filled product, then shaking it. With a well-chosen engobe, unexpected color combinations are formed under the glaze.

When sculpting, a relief from a clay mass is manually applied to the product, the color of which most often matches the color of the shard. Sometimes raised areas are painted a different color.

Reservation is a method based on applying a wax or fat layer according to the pattern outlined on the product before glazing it. The pattern has the color of ceramic mass, the rest of the surface is covered with colored engobe (engobe does not stick to oiled areas). One of the methods of decoration is also moletage: a pressed pattern is applied to the product with a special wheel, after which it is painted with an engobe of carved flowers. This is a very effective way to decorate decorative household items.

An ancient method is also polishing, which is done by smoothing the wet surface of the product with a stone. Sometimes a simple ornament in the form of stripes, teeth, circles, etc. is applied with a stone.

In practice, products are often decorated by combining techniques - painting with engraving or flanging with “marble”. When painting with engraving, the engraving is first done and then filled in the right places engobom. When combining flandrovka and “marble”, the “marble” comes first, and then the flandrovka. A number of tools are used for decoration: tournette, pipette, metal and wooden sticks, stacks, etc. Tournettes can be tabletop or on special stands - frames. The upper circle of the tournette, where the product is placed, is easily moved by the left hand. The main tool for applying engobe is a pipette, into the hole of which an evenly cut straw is inserted. The diameter of the straw determines the flow of the engobe. When flandrovka, a stick is used, at the end of which a metal or wooden point is inserted at a right angle, and engraving and sgraffito are performed with wooden and metal sticks similar to a pencil. For sculpting you need ordinary sculpture stacks - metal and wood. In addition, when working, you need a walnut sponge (soft rag, rubber sponge) to remove the engobe.

Glazing - a widely used artistic and technical technique for processing ceramic products. Coating a product with glaze - a glassy mass - serves not only an aesthetic purpose. The glaze protects it from moisture penetration and makes it more durable. Glazes can be transparent (colorless and colored) and opaque. Transparent colorless glazes clearly reveal the natural color of the clay from which the product is made, which cannot be said about opaque glazes.

After the first, waste firing, the product is cleaned of dust with special brushes. The glaze prepared in the container is stirred until it becomes an emulsion. The product is dipped or doused in glaze, then dried.

The glaze can be applied with a large, fine-bristled brush, especially when only part of the surface is being glazed. Working under pressure compressed air An airbrush is also suitable for this purpose.

The basis of the glaze is quartz, feldspar, kaolin. Metal oxides are also introduced into the glaze, thereby achieving heat resistance and other qualities. Depending on the method of preparation, glazes are divided into raw and fritted. Raw glazes are the simplest: all components are crushed and mixed with water to a certain density of the glaze slip. To obtain fritted glaze, the components of the glaze mixture are fritted, that is, fused (usually at a temperature of 1200-1300 ° C), as a result of which insoluble silicates and other compounds are formed. After melting, the frit is poured into a container of water, where it cools, then dried and thoroughly crushed in a mortar. There are glazes that are refractory and fusible. Refractory ones are used for porcelain, fireclay, and hard earthenware. Their melting point is 1125-1360 °C. For majolica, glazes are used that melt at temperatures up to 1000 °C.

Colored glazes are also used to decorate majolica products. Color is achieved by introducing metal oxides and salts into the colorless glaze. Thus, cobalt oxide gives a color from light to dark blue; chromium oxide is green, and in the presence of tin - pink, red; Copper oxide is used to make green, red and fire reduction glazes; compounds with manganese give brown, pink colors; iron oxide - from yellow and red to brown and black, etc.

Reducing fire glazes make ceramic products very beautiful: when fired, a metallic sheen is formed on the surface. How is this achieved? At first, firing proceeds in the usual way, but at a kiln temperature of about 600 ° C, when the glaze on the shard is no longer motionless, the access of air to the kiln is blocked, and reducing agents in the form of splinters, oil, and rags are introduced into the firebox. A reducing environment is created in the furnace; the fire removes oxygen and metal oxides. If you start reducing while the glaze is still liquid, the carbon can fuse into the glaze, causing it to turn a dull, gray-black color. If the restoration fire is formed after the glaze has hardened, then restoration will not occur, the product will only be covered with soot.

The recovery process lasts from two to six hours. Products are removed from the oven only after they have cooled, otherwise metallization may stop. Glazes, which give a metallic sheen to ceramic products, are always fusible; they contain lead compounds, which are easily restored. But it must be borne in mind that lead can be restored earlier than the desired metal. This will ruin the glaze and make it a metallic dark gray rather than a rainbow shimmer. To receive beautiful shades The glaze is recommended to be applied to white enamels. The basis of reduction fire glazes are the following fluxes (in percentage):

The flux components are fused and then finely ground. Below are the recipes for some fire reduction glazes (in percentages).

Glaze No. 1. Colors in green, blue, gray, purple, red tones: flux No. 1 -98.2, copper oxide -1.8.

Glaze No. 2. Apply to a bisque shard to obtain an orange-pearl shade: flux No. 2 - 97, silver nitrate - 1.9, bismuth oxide - 1.1.

Glaze N 3. Creates copper color, violet: flux No. 3 or No. 4 - 99.1, copper sulfate - 0,9.

Glaze No. 4. Forms a golden color with a bright shine: flux No. 3 or No. 4 - 98.8, copper sulfate - 0.9, silver nitrate - 0.3.

Ceramic products decorated with crackle glaze are very impressive. Crackle glazes were first made in China. If cracks appeared in the glaze after firing, the products with such a defect were dipped into a certain liquid and fired again, after which the cracks were melted, the products turned out beautiful. The Chinese used these glazes to decorate products with ornaments or apply a blue or blue mesh on a white background.

Later they began to produce “crackle” in different colors. To obtain glazes with a narrow-loop network over the entire surface of the product, the so-called irregular glaze composition is prepared in advance, for which the amount of silica in it is reduced, thereby reducing acidity, and the content of alkali or lead compounds is increased. The product is covered with this glaze and fired. Firing takes less time than necessary, and as a result, cracks appear in the glaze. The still hot product is sometimes sprayed cold water, which also causes cracks to appear. Then it is dipped into a dye solution (cobalt nitrate, copper sulfate, etc.), where it should remain for an hour, the solution fills the cracks. To ensure that the dye remains only in the cracks, the entire surface is washed with water, dried, covered with the necessary glaze and fired. Crackle glaze can be obtained from ordinary glaze by introducing into its composition insoluble compounds that float to the top and, when cooled, create an uneven thin film resembling cracks.

Coating and painting products with enamels gives basically the same effect as painting with glazes. Enamels give bright and light colors on a shard. Painting on white enamel is done mainly with blue, yellow, green, and violet-brown colors.

BURNING

The shaping of a ceramic product occurs during firing. A fully artistic image is revealed only after the shard has been thoroughly “sintered,” hardened, and the molten glaze has hardened. The molded product, dried, adjusted, decorated with engobe, salts, dried again, is placed in the oven. This is the first, waste, firing. Then the product is painted with glazes. When repeating

Ceramic vases, pots, tea sets, candlesticks, plates, whistles and even musical instruments– you can create all this yourself.

To learn how to make ceramics with your own hands, the main thing is desire. Before you become a ceramicist, try making a simple trinket out of clay, and you will understand whether it is worth spending money on buying equipment for the work. If something doesn’t work out, it doesn’t matter, soak the scrap and make a new figure out of it; before baking, the product can be modified endlessly.

What is ceramics made from and where to get materials for work

Ceramics is fired clay, which is the main material in the work of a ceramist. Unlike, natural has natural origin, it is extracted from the bowels of the earth without subjecting it to chemical or other types of processing.

Experienced craftsmen, in order to save money, extract and prepare raw materials themselves. This process involves several stages and is unlikely to deserve attention if you are just starting out and live in the city.

The clay for making ceramics must be greasy and free of pebbles and other debris, otherwise the craft will crack during baking. The finished mass is stored under certain humidity conditions.

Natural clay happens different types:

• White - the most common, initially has a grayish tint, and after heat treatment takes on a pleasant ivory hue.
• Red – contains iron oxide, which gives the raw material a greenish tint. The main color of the raw material is brown, after firing the products become red. It lends itself well to modeling, does not crumble, and is ideal for sculptures and large items.
• Porcelain – gray when raw and white after baking.
• Blue - more often used in cosmetology and folk medicine.
• Black or dark brown ceramic mass is the hardest clay, taking on an ivory hue after being kilned.

Also clays for ceramics classified by temperature processing for low-melting, medium-melting, refractory.

It is most convenient to buy ready-made pottery clay, focusing on the size of the fraction, color after firing at different temperatures and other characteristics and quality indicators. The cost depends on the manufacturer, packaging, texture. There are ready-made masses with additives for various tasks - modeling, molding, potter's wheel.

In addition to clay, you need glazes and enamels to coat products, pigments to give hand-made ceramics the desired shade, special additives to improve properties and heat treatment.

Used for gluing parts slip mass- a kind of glue made from diluted clay. If you simply connect the elements, they may fall off when heated. All this is sold in specialized stores for ceramists.

Methods for making ceramic products

There are several ways to transform clay into a beautiful ceramic product.

Modeling- most affordable way making ceramic products with your own hands at home. Souvenirs, sculptures, dishes, toys or other crafts are sculpted by hand, as if from plasticine, helping themselves with special stacks or improvised devices.

Pottery requires a rotating circle. With the help of this ancient craft, vases, jugs, pots, plates, and cups are still created today.

Cooldown– the easiest option for making ceramics for beginners. The work uses a plaster mold, into which soft clay is placed, and after hardening, the figured product is removed. Plaster molds are attractive because they absorb excess moisture, helping the clay product to harden and dry.

Casting– forms are also used here, but of a different type. The diluted clay is poured into molds, the blanks are dried, removed and painted.

Clay crafts gain strength only after firing - processing in pottery kilns at temperatures from 900 to 1300 degrees. Ready-made souvenirs cover acrylic paints or a special glassy glaze for ceramics. In the case of glazes, another firing is required after coloring.

If you want to get a natural shade, use milking - cover an unpainted baked ceramic figurine with milk in several layers and bake again at a higher temperature. low temperatures.

Pottery kiln - types and preferences

Previously, kilns for firing ceramics were furnaces dug in the ground and heated exclusively with wood. Modern pottery kilns come in gas, electric and wood. The latter, as a rule, are made by hand and are suitable for use in private households. In apartment conditions, it is most convenient to work with electric ovens; for larger volumes, you can choose a gas oven.

Hidden in the metal casing of such furnaces is fire brick or other material that retains heat and is not afraid of heat. Provided for moisture removal ventilation holes, the ceramic firing process is controlled by a software controller. Electric pottery kilns are not a cheap pleasure. The price depends on the manufacturer, volume, power.

There are models on sale with vertical and horizontal loading and bell-type. By location type heating element Pottery kilns are divided into muffle and chamber kilns. IN muffle it is located around a container made of refractory material (muffle). In chamber heaters, the heater is located inside, which reduces heat loss and makes the equipment more economical.

With a little effort, you can make a kiln for firing ceramics at home with your own hands, using refractory bricks and something for the body, for example, an old washing machine.

Baking is the most important process that does not forgive mistakes. Sometimes even experienced craftsmen see a worthless defect instead of the expected masterpiece. The products are never taken out immediately; they must cool in the oven.

How to choose a pottery wheel

Pottery wheels are needed for sculpting round objects, so you don’t have to buy this tool right away. If you are just learning ceramics, start with sculpting or kneading. Circles come with manual, foot and electric control.

How to properly prepare the clay and prepare the mass for modeling?
The washed, dried clay is broken into small pieces with a hammer and soaked. hot water in 2-3 doses in an enamel bowl, until the surface of the clay is covered with water by 4-5 cm. For 10 - 12 hours, the mixture is periodically stirred, adding water. Then the mass is rubbed through a sieve several times and again allowed to sit for 1-2 days until it thickens. The remaining water is scooped out, the mass is poured into gypsum trays (gypsum absorbs water well), the clay becomes even more compact. After 3-4 hours, the clay can be selected from the trays. The result will be a dough that sticks well to your hand and has no air bubbles (if there are any, you need to knead the clay). Fold the clay into layers and cover with plastic wrap.
Before use, thinning additives (quartz sand, ground shards, crushed chamotte) are added to the clay to reduce shrinkage and fluxing additives (feldspars, pegmatite, chalk, limestone and others) are added to reduce the firing temperature, ensure sintering of the shards, increase thermal stability and translucency.

Equipment for ceramic products :
Stacks and rings are used to make ceramic products. You can make an electric pottery wheel yourself by adapting a table or table instead of a bed. carpentry workbench and electric motor from sewing machine with a pedal to regulate the rotation speed.
A working circle with a diameter of 25-30 cm can be machined from bronze, aluminum, plastic or thick plywood impregnated with hot drying oil. The ratio of the diameters of the electric motor pulleys and the circle is calculated so that the circle rotates with maximum speed— 300 rpm. (counterclockwise).

Equipment manufacturers prices :
LLC "HORSS" offers a range of electric pottery wheels from foreign and domestic manufacturers: from professional to small, suitable for schools, studios, hobbies, and everything necessary materials to open your own small workshop.

• Profi-Max pottery wheel S-4631 is suitable for individual artists, studios and small workshops. Disc diameter is 200 mm, weight with packaging is approximately 65 kg. Price - 29,502 rubles.
  Potter's wheel S-4802 produced by Fo. Me., Italy is suitable for working at home, in studios and workshops. Can be installed on a table or on a low stand. Disc diameter is 300 mm, weight with packaging is about 19 kg. Price - 39,176 rubles.
• There are also more expensive models: the S-4640 pottery wheel (Fome 3412) can be purchased for 44,014 rubles, the S-4860 (RK-Whisper) wheel costs 59,472 rubles, and the S-4861 (VL-Whisper) wheel costs 66,316 rubles .
  The table pottery wheel S-4879 (RK-5T) is intended for home use(for hobby). Manufacturer: NidecShimpo Corporation, Japan.
  The maximum weight of clay is 10 kg. The weight of the circle is 13 kg. Its price in the company: 21,948 rubles.
• Potter's wheel S-4880 (RK-55) (manufacturer: Nidec-Shimpo Corporation, Japan) is perfect for schools, studios, and hobbies. The speed is adjusted by an external pedal from 0 to 250 rpm, the direction of rotation can be selected clockwise or counterclockwise. The maximum weight of clay is 14 kg. The circle itself weighs 27 kg. Its price: 35,046 rubles.
• Potter's wheel S-4822 (Armavir) with friction drive and pedal is very easy to use. The drive flywheel is always at hand - you can turn the product a little for work. On both sides of the table there are retractable cups for tools. The weight of the circle is approximately 25 kg. Price of the circle: 18,172 rubles.
  You can purchase a furnace for firing products from the company (prices for gas ovens: from 70 to 900 thousand rubles, for electrical: from 60 thousand to over 1 million rubles), as well as the necessary materials (ceramic masses, glazes, engobes, luster paints, pigments, salts, oxides, overglaze and universal paints), books for learning. Company TM "Golden Hands"
• offers an electric pottery wheel PROFI-MAX (MINI version - the most lightweight version of the wheel supply, cost - 30 thousand rubles) and a forming attachment for it, SUPER-PROFI pottery wheels (cost - 40 thousand rubles)) and a pottery wheel for beginners " Gosha" (cost - 12 thousand rubles).
  The PROFI-MAX wheel is supplied with: pottery wheel, user manual, speed pedal, plastic basin, two foam sponges, string with handles, soft stack, educational film on DVD (42 min.), sample of pottery clay (2.5 kg), kit for assembling a cabinet box (description, plywood parts, screws, key). The molding attachment allows you to mold, for example, a decorative plate in a plaster mold rotating on the faceplate of a pottery wheel in one minute. 15-20 minutes after molding, when the clay dries and shrinks, the plate is easily removed from the mold.
  You can mold a decorative plate with any bas-relief on the bottom, while only the insert pattern changes, and the plaster form remains the same. Then you can start decorating by cutting, scratching, making molded elements or embossing. stamp drawing. By using various gypsum molds, you can easily expand the range of ceramics produced.
  Using a vacuum table (optional), you can grind finished goods(for example, bottoms), layering, polishing. It is very easy to make a plaster mold using a plaster modeling machine. Methods of molding ceramic products :
  The molding of ceramic products can be carried out in several ways: free modeling, free molding on a potter's wheel, plastic molding with a hand impression in a mold, plastic molding in a rotating plaster mold using a molding template, slip casting in plaster molds.
• With free modeling, various figures, whistles or large pots are sculpted by hand from prepared clay dough. A blank of the desired shape is molded from a piece of clay. Then, using a spatula, make a depression in it and select clay, gradually thinning the walls of the vessel. The final processing and smoothing of the internal surfaces is carried out using a loop stack. The prepared hollow form is placed on a board and the edge of the vessel is processed, attaching a neck to it - a rolled out strip of clay.
• Free forming is done on a potter's wheel. Place a clay blank in the shape of a ball exactly in the center of the potter's wheel. By pressing with your thumbs, a cylindrical depression is made in the middle of the ball and gradually expanded to the required size. Then the cylinder is pulled out to the desired height. First, they mold the base, then, gently pressing on the walls of the cylinder with inside, expand it to obtain the desired product.
• Plastic molding by hand is carried out using plaster molds. Open molds are used for molding flat products, split molds are used for the manufacture of products of complex shapes (vessels, sculptures). The mold is filled with clay dough and kneaded from the center to the edges.
• In addition to these methods, there is also plastic molding in a rotating gypsum mold using a template and molding by slip casting into plaster molds (based on the property of gypsum to absorb moisture and the ability of clay to transition from a liquid state to a plastic dough state when humidity decreases).
• When making ceramic products with complex configurations, molding methods are often combined. The combination of the plastic molding method in a rotating plaster mold with a metal template with slip casting is widely used in the manufacture of teapots, cups, jugs and other porcelain and earthenware products consisting of a body and attached parts. Smoked ceramics are produced by combining slip casting with plastic molding. Toy manufacturing technology :
  Technology for making toys (popular modern souvenirs). A viscous dough is kneaded from red, gray or white clay with finely sifted sand and water, from which toys are made. After drying well in the wind, after a few days they are fired and then decorated with colored glazes or painting. After drying and calcining in an oven, Dymkovo craftsmen whiten the toys with chalk diluted in skim milk, and then paint them with gouache ground in egg yolk.
  To decorate ceramics, you can use reliefs, counter-reliefs or figured decorations, openwork indentation or carving with special stamps, inlays, and sgraffito.
  The simplest relief can be obtained by placing a comb on the rotating surface of the vessel; you will get smooth lines, lines with sharp and blunt peaks, and zigzag lines. Stamps with figured images made of plaster, wood, metal (gears, nuts) are used to apply an ornament, frills are made with fingers, and carvings are made with a knife. Sgraffito is carried out by scratching a slightly dried product coated with a layer of engobe (heat-resistant paint) to the lower, darker layer of clay.
  In addition, there is textured decoration - polishing ceramics to a shine with smooth objects - leather, wood, prints of fabric or mesh, applying wax before glazing, marbling (drops of paint spread over the surface themselves or are spread with a stick or wire), staining with iron oxides, smoke ( During firing, steaming pitch, oil or rags soaked in them are added to the oven). An interesting pattern can be obtained by placing a hot product in sawdust, chopped straw, or dipping it in flour.
  Ceramics treated with solutions of silver, gold, platinum or finished with luster (the thinnest transparent film applied to the glaze, shimmering in different colors depending on the type of metal oxides that make up the base) acquire an elegant appearance. A variety of decorative plant or thematic compositions on ceramics can be obtained using pictorial decoration, which is done with multi-colored heat-resistant paints (engobe) manually or mechanically.

  Firing ceramics :
  Firing ceramics. They burn clay products in a regular oven, Dutch oven or muffle oven. It is best to purchase a small muffle furnace, but you can make one yourself. It heats up to +900°C. The first firing (disposal) is done after the product covered with engobes has dried. It lasts from 2.5 to 7 hours. In this way, terracotta is obtained, the color of which depends on the clay, temperature and firing mode.

  Processing ceramics after firing . Terracotta is easy to work with sanding paper, sharp steel instrument, reefers. It can be tinted with tempera paints or watercolors diluted in milk, but most often it is covered with glazes, which are then fixed with a second firing.
  Glaze, suitable for any shard, is obtained by fusing the following mixture (in parts by weight): potassium nitrate - 30; borax - 114.5; boric acid- 49.5; marble -40; kaolin - 207.2; quartz sand 228. The components are placed in a refractory crucible and placed in a muffle furnace. The readiness of the alloy is determined using a long metal rod with a curved end: it is lowered into the crucible and quickly removed. If a glassy thread without knots follows it, it means the alloy is ready; The crucible is removed with tongs and its contents are poured into a metal vessel with cold water, where the mass crumbles into small pieces, which are then ground.
  The easiest (folk) way to prepare glaze is to heat a bottle glass over a fire and then throw it into water. The glass will become covered with small cracks and will easily crumble. Grind it into powder in a mortar and add paste. The product is watered with this composition, allowed to dry and placed in an oven, where it is kept for about 3 hours.
  Coating ceramics with enamels , specially prepared in muffle furnace from certain components (silicon dioxide, boric anhydrite, aluminum oxides, titanium, oxides of alkali and alkaline earth metals, lead, zinc).

  An interesting decoration can be made from small colored pieces of glass. They are applied to certain places on the surface of the product, then it is fired again (for the third time). The glass melts and spreads over the surface. This gives the product even more shine.
  You can create amazingly beautiful things from clay, painting them with a wide variety of colors; you can apply one paint to another to get a new combination, new shades.

Recently it has become very fashionable to make dishes and various items do-it-yourself clay interior. We at the How to Green editorial team decided to figure out the reasons for the popularity of handmade ceramics, and turned to ceramic artistElena Subbotina . She named as many as 7 reasons (in addition to the obvious - creative self-realization and acquiring new craft knowledge) why it is worth making dishes for the home and various small items for the interior with your own hands.

Reason 1: uniqueness

Obviously, you can make a 100% unique set or tea pair for your kitchen either to order or with your own hands. Doing it yourself will be much cheaper. You have the opportunity to bring to life the most bold ideas and make exactly what fits perfectly into your interior or is suitable as a gift to a loved one. And not only the design you need, but also the size you like. So it’s up to you to decide whether you’ll drink tea at home from huge cups and saucers, like in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, or from delicate tiny ones, like Kirsten Dunst’s heroine in the movie Marie Antoinette. By the way, making dishes for the home with your own hands is also convenient because, by creating, say, a service in the same style, you don’t have to overpay for soup or dessert plates that you don’t need, and then think about where to store them in your small kitchen. You will make for yourself only those plates, bowls, cups and mugs that you need and will use.

Reason 2: environmental friendliness

Did you know that when making tableware in factories, some still use hazardous materials, including lead and cadmium? Lead glazes are very beautiful; the content of this metal gives the product a special shine. The amount of lead, of course, is small, but using this glaze is strictly prohibited. It is not recommended to even store dry food in such containers, let alone pour hot soup into a bowl of lead. In some countries there is a law that prohibits the use of lead in foodware in any quantity. However, in Russia, China, Africa, and the countries of the Southeast region, there is often no strict control over manufacturers who neglect the issue of ethics and consumer health, since purchasing bright, glossy, lead-free glazes is much more expensive in large-scale production. So think ten times before you buy a cheap, bright cup or bowl. Why do you need dishes that poison you? harmful substances? By creating your own pottery, you can control which materials and glazes you use to create your plates and cups. By the way, ceramics can be bright and without colored glazes at all. There are natural colored clays: blue, green, black, and even ordinary light types have a beautiful natural color. In order for the products to be functional and not allow water to pass through, they must be covered with colorless or white glaze, but you can completely refuse colored glaze or choose safe, proven options.

Reason 3: replenishment

If suddenly careless guests or you yourself dropped your favorite mug and broke it, it’s okay. Your service will not suffer from this, because you can always make a couple more plates or cups. The same is true in the case of a new addition to your family - the birth of a baby or the marriage of a beloved brother. You can always make the missing set of dishes in a couple of hours. If you went on a trip, you probably noticed very interesting items interior - large vases, picture frames, candlesticks. Sometimes things are so beautiful, you just fall in love with them, but taking them with you from a trip is difficult and too troublesome. And why? It’s enough to take a couple of photos on your smartphone and, upon returning from vacation, make copies of your favorite interior items or dishes, but in your own style and to suit your tastes and needs.

Photo: ceramics studio Ceramic Forest

Reason 4: quality

A fairly common story: you bought beautiful dishes from an online store, but they turned out to be of poor quality. The bright pattern on the mug began to peel off after washing, and knife marks appeared on the plates. When producing your own dishes, especially in a ceramic workshop under the supervision of a master, such excesses are excluded. First of all, you will be taught how to handle clay correctly and the sequence will be explained. technological process, which will make your dishes high quality and practical. So you can put it in the microwave and wash it without any problems. dishwasher. There is no risk of cracks or peeling paint.

Reason 5: saving the family budget

If you haven’t decided to produce a whole set, but just for fun, you’ve attended an introductory course on ceramics and made a couple of mugs, then even this knowledge will be enough for you to begin to understand tableware, types of clay and glazes, and the artist’s skill. If suddenly in a store a saleswoman begins to assure you that a pair of coffee costs 20,000 rubles because it is rare blue clay, then you can safely clarify whether it is natural or just an artificial color (a pigment mixed into ordinary white clay)? Dyed clay carries no value and you are paying solely for the brand. Expensive ceramics stores also like to use stamping. This means that the shape of the products is not unique: the patterns that are applied to them can simply be printed, and not drawn by the master. It’s another matter if you see a designer jug ​​made of expensive materials on a market somewhere in the mountains of Andalusia, unique shape and with painting. You will immediately understand how much work the master has put into it and why it costs a decent amount. By the way, if the author of this work of art is suddenly exhibited in some gallery or museum contemporary art, then the purchased jug can also be sold at a profit to collectors.

Reason 6: the issue with gifts has been resolved

Unique DIY ceramics are also exclusive gifts for family, friends and colleagues. You can personalize the dishes, leave initials on them, create any images and write wishes. For example, if you have unique lace left over from your grandmother, then you can make an entire service with a unique print based on it. Thus, each family member will have a memory printed on a mug, plate, dish or teapot. Clay is an amazing living material that allows you to bring any idea to life. We use ceramic products every day, so these gifts are not only beautiful and unique, but also very useful for any person, regardless of their gender and age. By the way, it is not at all necessary to give dishes as a gift. You can create almost anything from ceramics. For example, floor tiles– a great gift for renovating the bathroom in your beloved mother’s apartment. Other interesting options:

• ceramic handles that will transform an ordinary stamped wooden chest of drawers into a real work of art for the chest of drawers;
• decorative sculpture, for example, for the garden;
• pots for indoor or garden flowers;
• tray;
• whistles for children;
• brooches for friends;
• soap dish and other bathroom accessories.

Photo: ceramics studio Ceramic Forest

Reason 7: additional income

After you learn how to make dishes with your own hands, make all the necessary plates for your own home, and give gifts to your friends and colleagues, it is quite possible to monetize your favorite hobby. Create, say, an online store on Instagram and produce unique dishes in your own style to order. By the way, the most popular are craftswomen with a rather narrow specialization who make, for example, beautiful openwork stands for cakes and mugs unusual shape or fruit dishes with unique designs. Who knows, maybe one day you will make plates not only for your beloved man or relatives as a gift, but also for an entire restaurant.

Where to make your own dishes?

You can make your own cookware at home. To do this, you will need the necessary materials - clay, stacks, glaze, and so on. You can fire finished products at home; for this, there are furnaces that are suitable for a voltage of 220 W. But they are quite expensive - from 100,000 rubles. Therefore, at the initial stage it is easier to carry out firing in special kilns in ceramic workshops. They usually accept items not made by them for firing without any problems and for a very reasonable fee. Before purchasing materials for your home, we would recommend that you take an introductory course on working with clay from a specialist. Usually ceramic workshops offer different options. Depending on the amount of information, such training will take you from 2 hours to several days and will cost from 2-3 thousand rubles, taking into account the cost of all materials. If you haven’t yet decided what exactly you want to make from ceramics, it makes sense to purchase a subscription to the workshop and attend master classes that interest you. It will be easier and cheaper than immediately taking long, expensive courses. Usually such master classes are held for several people at once, so you have original version spending leisure time with a friend or loved one.

By the way, you can make all the dishes that you see in the photo in this article with your own hands already in the first lesson...

Recently, it has become very fashionable to make dishes and various interior items from clay with your own hands. We at the How to Green editorial team decided to figure out the reasons for the popularity of handmade ceramics, and turned to ceramic artistElena Subbotina . She named as many as 7 reasons (in addition to the obvious - creative self-realization and acquiring new craft knowledge) why it is worth making dishes for the home and various small items for the interior with your own hands.

Reason 1: uniqueness

Obviously, you can make a 100% unique set or tea pair for your kitchen either to order or with your own hands. Doing it yourself will be much cheaper. You have the opportunity to bring to life the most daring ideas and make exactly what will fit perfectly into your interior or will be suitable as a gift for a loved one. And not only the design you need, but also the size you like. So it’s up to you to decide whether you’ll drink tea at home from huge cups and saucers, like in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, or from delicate tiny ones, like Kirsten Dunst’s heroine in the movie Marie Antoinette. By the way, making dishes for the home with your own hands is also convenient because, by creating, say, a service in the same style, you don’t have to overpay for soup or dessert plates that you don’t need, and then think about where to store them in your small kitchen. You will make for yourself only those plates, bowls, cups and mugs that you need and will use.

Reason 2: environmental friendliness

Did you know that some factories still use hazardous materials, including lead and cadmium, when making tableware? Lead glazes are very beautiful; the content of this metal gives the product a special shine. The amount of lead, of course, is small, but using this glaze is strictly prohibited. It is not recommended to even store dry food in such containers, let alone pour hot soup into a bowl of lead. In some countries there is a law that prohibits the use of lead in foodware in any quantity. However, in Russia, China, Africa, and the countries of the Southeast region, there is often no strict control over manufacturers who neglect the issue of ethics and consumer health, since purchasing bright, glossy, lead-free glazes is much more expensive in large-scale production. So think ten times before you buy a cheap, bright cup or bowl. Why do you need dishes that poison you with harmful substances? By creating your own pottery, you can control which materials and glazes you use to create your plates and cups. By the way, ceramics can be bright and without colored glazes at all. There are natural colored clays: blue, green, black, and even ordinary light types have a beautiful natural color. In order for the products to be functional and not allow water to pass through, they must be covered with colorless or white glaze, but you can completely refuse colored glaze or choose safe, proven options.

Reason 3: replenishment

If suddenly careless guests or you yourself dropped your favorite mug and broke it, it’s okay. Your service will not suffer from this, because you can always make a couple more plates or cups. The same is true in the case of a new addition to your family - the birth of a baby or the marriage of a beloved brother. You can always make the missing set of dishes in a couple of hours. If you went on a trip, you probably noticed very interesting interior items - large vases, picture frames, candlesticks. Sometimes things are so beautiful, you just fall in love with them, but taking them with you from a trip is difficult and too troublesome. And why? It’s enough to take a couple of photos on your smartphone and, upon returning from vacation, make copies of your favorite interior items or dishes, but in your own style and to suit your tastes and needs.

Photo: ceramics studio Ceramic Forest

Reason 4: quality

A fairly common story: you bought beautiful dishes from an online store, but they turned out to be of poor quality. The bright pattern on the mug began to peel off after washing, and knife marks appeared on the plates. When producing your own dishes, especially in a ceramic workshop under the supervision of a master, such excesses are excluded. First of all, you will be taught how to handle clay correctly and will be explained the sequence of the technological process that will make your dishes high-quality and practical. So you can put it in the microwave and wash it in the dishwasher without any problems. There is no risk of cracks or peeling paint.

Reason 5: saving the family budget

If you haven’t decided to produce a whole set, but just for fun, you’ve attended an introductory course on ceramics and made a couple of mugs, then even this knowledge will be enough for you to begin to understand tableware, types of clay and glazes, and the artist’s skill. If suddenly in a store a saleswoman begins to assure you that a pair of coffee costs 20,000 rubles because it is rare blue clay, then you can safely clarify whether it is natural or just an artificial color (a pigment mixed into ordinary white clay)? Dyed clay carries no value and you are paying solely for the brand. Expensive ceramics stores also like to use stamping. This means that the shape of the products is not unique: the patterns that are applied to them can simply be printed, and not drawn by the master. It’s another matter if you see on a market somewhere in the mountains of Andalusia a designer jug ​​made of expensive materials, unique in shape and painted. You will immediately understand how much work the master has put into it and why it costs a decent amount. By the way, if the author of this work of art is suddenly exhibited in some gallery or museum of modern art, then the purchased jug can also be sold at a profit to collectors.

Reason 6: the issue with gifts has been resolved

Unique DIY ceramics are also exclusive gifts for family, friends and colleagues. You can personalize the dishes, leave initials on them, create any images and write wishes. For example, if you have unique lace left over from your grandmother, then you can make an entire service with a unique print based on it. Thus, each family member will have a memory printed on a mug, plate, dish or teapot. Clay is an amazing living material that allows you to bring any idea to life. We use ceramic products every day, so these gifts are not only beautiful and unique, but also very useful for any person, regardless of their gender and age. By the way, it is not at all necessary to give dishes as a gift. You can create almost anything from ceramics. For example, floor tiles are an excellent gift for renovating the bathroom in your beloved mother’s apartment. Other interesting options:

• ceramic handles that will transform an ordinary stamped wooden chest of drawers into a real work of art for the chest of drawers;
• decorative sculpture, for example, for the garden;
• pots for indoor or garden flowers;
• tray;
• whistles for children;
• brooches for friends;
• soap dish and other bathroom accessories.

Photo: ceramics studio Ceramic Forest

Reason 7: additional income

After you learn how to make dishes with your own hands, make all the necessary plates for your own home, and give gifts to your friends and colleagues, it is quite possible to monetize your favorite hobby. Create, say, an online store on Instagram and produce unique dishes in your own style to order. By the way, the most popular are craftswomen with a fairly narrow specialization, who make, for example, beautiful openwork cake stands, unusually shaped mugs, or fruit dishes with unique designs. Who knows, maybe one day you will make plates not only for your beloved man or relatives as a gift, but also for an entire restaurant.

Where to make your own dishes?

You can make your own cookware at home. To do this, you will need the necessary materials - clay, stacks, glaze, and so on. You can fire finished products at home; for this, there are furnaces that are suitable for a voltage of 220 W. But they are quite expensive - from 100,000 rubles. Therefore, at the initial stage it is easier to carry out firing in special kilns in ceramic workshops. They usually accept items not made by them for firing without any problems and for a very reasonable fee. Before purchasing materials for your home, we would recommend that you take an introductory course on working with clay from a specialist. Typically, ceramic workshops offer different options. Depending on the amount of information, such training will take you from 2 hours to several days and will cost from 2-3 thousand rubles, taking into account the cost of all materials. If you haven’t yet decided what exactly you want to make from ceramics, it makes sense to purchase a subscription to the workshop and attend master classes that interest you. It will be easier and cheaper than immediately taking long, expensive courses. Typically, such master classes are held for several people at once, so you have an original option for spending leisure time with a friend or loved one.

By the way, you can make all the dishes that you see in the photo in this article with your own hands already in the first lesson...