Cleaning And Repairing Greenware
Every step in producing a finished piece of ceramic ware is important, but no part of the procedure is as vital to the quality of it as is the cleaning of the greenware; meticulous decoration is of little value if it is carried out on poorly prepared greenware. Unfortunately, many beginners — perhaps through lack of proper training - seem to think that "once over lightly" will suffice, as far as preparing their pieces is concerned, and believe some special alchemy will take place in the kiln, to diminish or eradicate overlooked blemishes. A kiln does seem to possess mystical powers, when we consider its ability to change a piece of drab, brittle clay into a hard, durable ceramic item, but it does not have the power to erase defects of human error. Whenever a piece of green-ware is produced in a mold of two or more sections, the resulting piece will have ridges where the sections of the mold come together; these ridges are called "fettles," and removing them is called "fettling." Greenware pieces cast in well-made, new molds usually have seam marks which are hardly noticeable, while ware cast in older, worn or poorly made molds will often have wider, more prominent seam marks. Large or small, these mold seam marks must, and can be, removed so that there is no trace that they ever existed.Page 1 2
May 19, 2012