A ceramic hand building process

    For this ceramic piece I was allowed the opportunity to build inside the kiln. Many will not get this chance but if you do my advise would be to lay down a few layers of news paper. Given the layer of kiln wash on the shelves, its absorbancy, and the drying and shrinking of the clay body.
   


As I lay down the first coil I determine the overall thickness of the piece. I also set the diameter of the base which will hold the bulk if not all of the weight. In the cases in which the diameter is more than 10 inches apart it is my recommendation to bridge the span with a wall connecting one end to the other. This gives structual strength and allows for more uniform shrinking. (This wall does not have to come to the same height as the outer coils or slabs.) 

    For me the most important part of constructing a large ceramic piece is the process of the inner structures. Allow the extruder to become your friend!

    For this particular piece I continued to coil up the outer wall to about 20" then began the process of slipping and scoring more coils from the wall to build what I considered fluffy armrests and a back. Once the piece began taking the shape of a chair I went back to the connecting wall (bridge) which was in the center and built a flat platform to hold extruded tubes. These extruded tubes would, in my mind be the main weight baring piece for the figure that would sit on top of the chair. (The tubes I left opened on the top and I then built tubes that sat on top of the bottom tubes as lids.) I then started to build off of these top tubes for the pelvic region and thighs.

I finished the pelvic region and thighs, then decided to make figure into multiple pieces due to weight concerns. I placed newspaper between the thighs and knee caps extruded the tibia and coiled feet off of those two. I also placed newspaper at the waist line and built the torso on top of it resting against more extruded pipes the slid into pipes built into the top cushion on the chair.

 The weight of the wet clay led to some problems so I decided to brace the back up with a tube and foam padding. (The foam is used just for the protection of indentation onto the piece.) I then coiled a head and arms. When building the arms I stuck newspaper once again on the resting place which the elbow hit this allow the clay space when fired in the kiln.

When I finished construction of the piece I decided to once fire it. (Just my choice but I think glazing it would have made the piece stronger.)