Class printout for Fine Art class, TaipeiMunicipalNanhuHigh School— introducing ceramics

I Taiwan’s ceramics: there are five categories: ceramics for daily use, artistic ceramics, construction ceramics, sanitary ceramics, industrial ceramics.

  1. Ceramics for daily use：kitchenware and tableware are in this category. Kitchenware is traditional ceramic. In early 1950, it was made by manual pulling and used local clay or clay from Peitou. There were glazed with lead enamel, which was very popular at that time. In 1969 and 1970, aluminum and plastic products emerged and replaced ceramic products in the market, so many ceramics manufacturers stopped their business. And the ceramicist thus worked for factories that produced artistic ceramics.

（1）Tableware (bowl, plate, spoon, tea set)

（2）cooker (rice cooer, dish bowl, hotpot, stewing pot, etc)

（3）container (water jar, rice jar, ceramic vase, ceramic bottle, etc)

（4）flower vase (flower vase, flower bottle, flower plate, etc)

（5）tool ( rub bowl, mold tool, patting tool, cylinder, patting tool, beetle nut plate, etc)

（6）medicine ceramics (brewer, small medicine bottle, etc)

（7）furniture (chopsticks container, ceramic stool, stove, oil lamp, lamp stand, cabinet stool, wash bowl, egg bowl, sink, mousetrap, etc)

  1. Artistic ceramics：The industrial revolution in the 19th century resulted in the production of artistic ceramics. Factories hired artists to enhance artistry of their products. It’s called “artistic ceramics” to differ from the machine-produced products. There is close relationship between “artistic ceramics” and “artist ceramics”. The former produced portraits and animal ornament; Latter, bottle, vase and antiquity.
  1. Construction Ceramics:Factories manufacturing this kind of ceramics are most profit making. Automatic computerized kilns, consistent production line, and commercialized management modernize these factories. Quality and glaze produced by these factories are pretty competitive in the international market but they need to strengthen design and type of their product to extend the export margin. Yingge became main supplier of Taiwan’s construction ceramics after 1971 when natural gas was discovered.
  1. Sanity CeramicsIt includes basin, bathtub, water tank and various toilets. It’s mainly made and sold domestically. To accommodate the diverse market, its design and function changed accordingly, for instance from simple wash to multiple functions like massage or medical treatment. Two biggest companies with novel quality in the industry are “HCG” and “Tenco”. Both of them are located in Yingge.
  1. Industrial Ceramics：There are many kind of industrial ceramics. Chemistry or industrial non-fireproof ceramics, grinding wheel, refractory brick are some of them. To categorize them by its characteristic, there are electronic ceramics, special ceramics, fireproof material. They make slow progress though since resources such as R&D, funds, and governmental assistance are limited.

II、Process of produce small-quantity ceramics

  1. Mix－Ceramicist mix clay according to characteristic of the clay to mix with vacuumed stirrer and squeeze the air out
  2. Form–there are certain methods to form, modeling, stripping, platting, sculpting and pulling. You have to wait till the embryo is formed and grinded smooth to applying glaze.
  3. Decorate－Wait till the embryo is dry to apply enamel, makeup powder on the surface.
  4. Natural Dry— It takes about one week to be completely dry depending on the weather.
  5. Fire (pre-glaze)－burn the embryo with 900 degrees
  6. Glaze－glaze with enamel which is a compound of metal or nonmetallic oxide. Here are some methods: shower, soak, spray, and color paint in detail.
  7. Fire (post-glaze)－this is final step. Fire with 1100-1260 degrees in the kiln so they can be firm. There are some kinds of kilns, and electricity kiln, cubic kiln, tunnel kiln, and roller kiln are some of them.

III、Process of produce large-quantity ceramics

  1. Molding –It has been using since the 60s. You use plaster mold to form the clay. Since the mold is easy to remove that saves time and labor work, it increases productionand efficiency. White cloud clay is one of the three materials used in the ceramics. Using grinder and mixer to stir the clay mesh. Then pour the mesh into the mold. Since plaster absorbs water, the mesh would dry on the wall in certain thickness. You get a product with hollow in after pouring out extra mud.
  2. Renovating（repair embryo）－Dry the embryo that just taken out from the mold. Use shaving knife to repair break, line when it’s not complete dry. Then use cloth to eliminate lines or scratches.
  3. Manual painting－Color it manually to guarantee product’s artistry. Generally, hand painting requires artistic sense and foundation to make fine products that have higher value. Kong Kuan Ceramics was inherited from Japanese conceptions, and it has the best team in Taiwan.
  4. Glazing－Gloss of the embryo is pretty much like glass. There are many enamels: non-light glaze, color glaze, white glaze, crack glaze and clear glaze that is commonly used for the embryo to present its true color. Here are some methods to glaze: soak, brush, spray, and shower. Soaking saves time and enamel.