What is ceramic?
Ceramic is the art of creating decorative or artistic pieces with clay. The artist shapes the clay and lets it air dry usually for a couple of days. In the next process the object is baked in special ovens at a very high temperature(more than 900 celcius). The last step is to glaze the piece and once again to bake it.
When and where was it first located in Greece.
From the prehistoric times ceramic satisfied the humanity's everyday needs. The abundant access to soil and water made it easy for them to create clay, a material which allowed them to create their utensils.
Clay is a general term used to describe hydrated phyllosilicate minerals containing various amounts of metals, metal oxides and organic compounds.
Greece has a 8000 years history of continuous ceramic making. Specifically, the use of ceramic is first located in Crete at around 7000b.C. whereas at around 6000b.C. are found the first ceramic works of Neolithic era.
During the Minoan years (3000-2100b.C.) in Crete pottery thrives and amazing artworks are found from that era with the art reached the peak at 2100-1580b.C.
The basic tools of ceramic art.
The tools of ceramic are almost primitive and without radical changes until today. Some of the most important are the following with brief description of their use:
- thin wire -to cut the clay
- wooden gravers-to give the clay shape
- common sponge-to give shape and to smooth surfaces
- spool with indentations-to decorate the pieces
- clay disks-are initially mounted on the wheel for easy and fast removal and repositioning of the vessels from the wheel
- wheel-pedestral mechanism for creating pieces.
- ceramic clay- this clay contains clay, silicon, water and is the clay used to create ceramic objects such as pots, cooking utensils, etc. The ceramic clay dries by baking at high temperatures (around 1000 Celsius).
- handicraft clay- this clay dries with the air and is ued for all kinds of creation and hobbies. It is easy to use, it is easily molded while the clay is fresh and the price is very economical. It takes about half a day to dry and is a bit heavy as a material.
- polymer clay- this type of clay consists of pvc and dries after baking in a common oven. It is used for making ornaments, jewerly and handicrafts. It is very easy to process, it is light as a material and it is available in a wide range of colors. With this clay you can create detailed designs with great ease, while it is very durable. However, it is pricer than handicraft clay.