How Ceramics Are Made

The Moulds

The mould needs to be checked on the inside before pouring it – in case there is anything inside it that shouldn’t be, or any damage to the mould. If there is anything in there that shouldn’t be (sometimes a little spider thinks it’s found a hiding place) they should be removed with a soft brush.

You should NEVER remove items from the moulds with your fingers/hands. If you do this, you can remove some of the detail from the mould very easily that you will never get back.

The mould needs to be banded tightly, so when you fill the mould with the slip it does not open.

Slip

I generally use ceramic ‘slip’ but have also used porcelain slip and terracotta slip.The slip needs to be stirred – slowly so you don’t add any air/air bubbles into the slip, it needs to be smooth without any lumps.

Pouring the Mould

The slip is then poured into the mould slowly again being careful, so it doesn’t add extra air into the mould. If you can pour over a band, it stops the mould getting a ‘hot spot’ when the slip is falling in the same place all the time. Hot spots come onto the product and are difficult to paint over.

Then you need to tap the edges, which brings any air in there bubbling up to the top. If you don’t get all the air bubbles out you can find holes in your product when it comes out of the mould and it is difficult to fill these afterwards.

Drying Process

The mould is left to stand and dry for approx 6-8 hours depending on the size of the item.

Then when it is ready and the neck of the mould pulls away easily you need to ‘crack’ the mould which means you have to get the mould and tap it all around the join with either your fist or a mallet you can hear the difference when you tap once the mould has cracked – when this is done you can remove one part of the mould, then remove the item completely from the mould.

The Details

Some items have windows to cut out, or light holes to cut in, and this must be done when the slip is still wet – if you don’t do it then you are very likely to break the product trying to do it when it is dry. The consistency whilst wet is like Plasticine. Once it is dry it is like a chocolate egg – very fragile.

Final Touches

The item is now left to dry for a couple of days. Once it is dry the edge which comes from the seam of the moulds needs to be removed, it needs to be sponged down and then fired in the kiln.