Straits Chinese Arts & Crafts Fair in Jingdezhen potters wins six golds

By Ceramic Design

Straits Chinese Arts & Crafts Fair in Jingdezhen potters wins six golds

By the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, China Light Industry Federation and the Fujian Provincial Government jointly organized the fourth China (Putian) Channel Craft Fair held in Putian, Fujian, Jingdezhen City, organized by 13 ceramic artists of the exhibition and the exhibition forms, participated in the Expo. Jingdezhen Ceramic exquisite art, this fair has become a major bright spot. Works in Jingdezhen City, won a total of six gold, 10 silver.

A Jingdezhen Potter

By Ceramic Design

Wang Yansheng, a 72-year-old potter, makes biscuit at a workshop in Jingdezhen, east China’s Jiangxi Province, March 22, 2006. Biscuit making is the first main phase of Chinese traditional ceramic making. Jingdezhen, with a history of 1,002 years, is famous for making ceramics for emperors and royal families in ancient China.

Basics of Thrown Pottery Forms

By Ceramic Design

Thrown pottery forms can incorporate a number of specific areas, or parts. Bringing the knowledge of those areas to the forefront of your mind as you plan a pot or while throwing can help you create more pleasing pottery. It will also help you develop your own aesthetic or style in your work, simply by giving you a more concrete framework from which to launch your artistic “voice.”

The rim, also sometimes called the lip, is the open upper edge of the pot. Various styles of rims are possible, from the minimalist cut-like opening to elaborate compound ogee rims.

When thinking of your pots’ rims, remember to take into account the use that the pot is likely to be put to. Sharp openings are uncomfortable for drinking, and elaborate ones will make your beaker into a dribble glass. If the function is to hold flowers or some other object, think of how the rim area will help the viewer’s eye make the transition from the pot to the object it is holding.

Neck

The neck of the pot, if there is one, also needs to follow its function. Certain necks are impractical for pottery that is to be used in the kitchen, for storage, or for any purpose that requires a hand to be able to reach its bottom.

The neck should also enhance the feeling you want to impart to your audience. For example, long thin necks tend to “read” as elegant, refined, and sometimes as prissy. Shorter, stout necks often give the user the feeling of sturdiness, stability, and strength.

Shoulder

The shoulder is the area in which there is a fairly obvious and sharp delineation between the neck and the body of the pot. If included in a particular pot, it becomes a strong focal point for the form and should be treated with authority. Tentative direction changes in this area of a pot will weaken the aesthetic feel of the entire vessel.

Waist

Not all pots have waists. As you would expect, when they are present, the waist on a pot is an area in which the form is collared inward. Pottery waists may consist of a strong demarcation between the upper and lower regions, or be a gentle concave curve between the outward swelling of the upper and lower areas it joins together.

Belly

The widest outwardly or convexly swelling area of a pot, especially if it is centered in the lower half of the form, is known as its belly. The belly, waist, and shoulder of a pot, taken together, are often known as the body of the pot.

Foot

Pots may or may not have a foot. When present, the foot is an area that is distinct from the body of the pot, and which is smaller in circumference than the body. The foot raises the pot up and away from whatever surface the pot is standing upon.

Feet are generally viewed as giving a pot more elegance and “presence”; visually they make the pottery form read as lighter. Tactility they can make a pot feel more comfortable in the hand if the pot is small enough for the hand to cup around its base. An overly tall, spindly foot can make a pot look and often actually be unstable.

Finish the Bottom of Thrown Pots

By Ceramic Design

There are two main options in how to finish the bottoms of thrown pots after they have been cut off the potter’s wheel. Which finishing technique you will use should be chosen before the pot is thrown.

Finishing the Pot Trimmed During Throwing

Pots that are thrown without excess floor, used to create a foot ring, still need some attention after they are thrown. Once the pot has been formed and trimmed on the wheel, it is cut off then left on the bat to dry until it is leather hard. When the pot can be handled without deforming, it should be lifted from the bat.

Turn the pot upside down. The bottom will show the marks of the cut-off line or wire. Brush away any crumbs of clay left over from trimming. Use either the pad of a finger or a barely moistened sponge and smooth the bottom edges and surface. Smoothing the bottom surfaces will help keep the pot from marring table surfaces that it is placed on after firing.

Finishing Trimmed Feet

Another option is to throw the pot with a deliberately thick bottom, with the intention of trimming away the excess clay when the clay is leather hard. Do as much trimming of the walls as possible while the pot is still on the wheel at the end of throwing, then cut it off. Once it is leather hard, a foot ring can be trimmed. Foot rings are often an elegant solution to the visual bottom of the pot.

Signing or Marking Your Pot

Most potters want to identify themselves as the makers of the pots they produce. You can make your own potter’s mark from wood or bisqued clay, then impress it in the clay while it is still damp.

Pots can also be signed when they are leather hard, once the trimming and smoothing has been completed. To incise your signature or sign, use a dull pointer tool or dull pencil. Do not use a potter’s needle or other sharp tool, since the sharp cut can encourage cracking. You can also sign your pot with a brush, using stain or slip.