Crafts Ceramics is a craft that has been used to man's advantage, and for his pleasure, in almost every section of the globe for thousands of years, perhaps since one prehistoric man pushed his fingers into some clay, and found that they left an impression. Archaeologists know that the use of clay for making utilitarian items antidates recorded human history, and pottery fragments unearthed in archaeological research are an important and major record of past civilizations.

The basic ingredient of this age-old craft is clay - a fine, insoluble residue from the natural decomposition of granit or feldspathic rock, a continuing process which takes place over many thousands of years — and is found abundantly in almost all parts of the world. Natural clays are of two major classifications: primary and secondary. Primary clays are those which remain on the sites of their formation, while secondary clays are carried by wind and water, to be deposited in other locations. During their movement, secondary clays gather organic matter and other impurities, some of which make them more useful to man.

The physical properties which make clay suitable for modeling or molding are: the extremely small, smooth, flat particles of which it is composed, making it malleable yet able to retain a desired shape; and, that when subjected to heat chemically combined water is driven off as steam during the "water smoking" period (about 1292°F), after which the clay becomes a hard, rocklike substance.




Page 1 2 3 4
Home > Crafts > Ceramics

October 6, 2008