Ceramic Beetle - 7th October 2015

Ceramics: Standing Stag Beetle

Health & Safety:

1. Ensure you're working in a well ventilated area - not too airy or your clay will dry out too much.
2. Have a clear desk space.
3. Make sure the desk is clean before you begin.
4. Cover any cuts with a plaster.
5. Have bags tucked away under tables or outside of the classroom.
6. Comfortable shoes,
7. Ensure fingers are away from blade when cutting.

You will need:

• Leatherhard stoneware clay,
• Cutting knife,
• Cardboard,
• Toothbrush,
• Jug of water,
• Paper,
• Pencil,

Step 1 - 

Firstly, make sure you have rolled out a slab of stoneware clay and have left it to become leather hard, where it is stiff, but still malleable.

Step 2 - 

Next, sketch out your 3D design on a piece of paper, including all the pieces you will need to make the actual model.

Step 3 - 

Taking a piece of cardboard, neatly draw out all of the pieces required and cut them out.

Step 4 - 

Once your pieces have been cut out, arrange them on top of your leather hard clay, and begin cutting around them using your craft knife.

Step 5 - 

Once all of your pieces have been cut out, remove them and begin assembling your 3D structure.

To secure the pieces together, you will need to use the 'score and slip' technique. To do this, take your knife and score lines diagonally and quite deeply across the edges you would like to stick together. It should look a little bit like a grid. 

Taking your toothbrush, wet it with a small amount of water and wet the areas you have just scored. This creates a sticky slip substance, which acts like glue which will fasten the pieces together. Join the pieces together and hold until it has mostly dried together.

Repeat this process on all areas you would like to join.

Step 6 - 

Once complete, decorate however you would like. I decorated mine with buttons to relate it to my collections project.

Step 7 - 

After the first bisque firing, decorate with oxides and glazes. This is what oxides look like by themselves, before the second firing.

I used a green oxide and covered it in a white glaze to see how it would turn out.

After the final firing. This is how my piece turned out.

I don't like how it turned out, as the white glaze was a bit too much over the green oxide and covered my button imprints, however it was a learning experience. This was only my second time using oxides and glazes so, the only way to achieve the look desired, it is through practice.