Pottery demonstration videos by AntoinetteAntoinette has several video clips that are extracts from her online pottery workshops. In this video she show how important the drying phases of the clay is when considering carving into the clay. Translucency in the porcelain clay is the result of fine carving into the clay.
Scroll down for more demonstrations. |
|
How to mix and preserve paper porcelain clayAntoinette share some information about the making of paper porcelain; The use of paper fibers to strengthen clay is nothing new in the ceramics industry, but how does it work with porcelain. Does paper have a place in porcelain and if so, what should potters know about it?
|
|
Understand what a pottery glaze isA basic glaze is made from clay, silica, a flux and often color( oxides) and/or texture. These raw materials are combined in a specific ratio, applied and fired at a certain temperature on the pottery object in a pottery kiln. In layman terms, glaze is glass with clay added to stop or slow the viscosity down.
It sound very simple and it is, if the potter understand a few basic facts. |
|
Porcelain sculpture balancing actPorcelain sculpture is experimental at best. Unless a specific process is repeated, It is always trial and error. Antoinette understands her porcelain clay body, but with every new process, comes new challenges and learning curves.
In this video She shows how she joins 2 parts to go into in the kiln. |
|
How to make porcelain clay balloon vesselsI had several people asking me how I create porcelain vessels over a balloon. Some potters create these vessels with slip, some create them and it leaves thick patches. In this video, I show you how I create them to where they are perfectly smooth. It can be used for sculptural, as well as functional work.
|
The bowl in this image is made over a balloon.
|
How to decorate pottery; resist glazing techniquesLearn to understand glazes and glazing techniques so that you can become more successful as a potter. When you learn how to fix, how to apply and how to decorate with your glazes, nothing can stop you from becoming an excellent ceramic artist.
One of the methods that will be addressed is majolica, but when majolica techniques are applied to a cone 10 glaze, it becomes something different. |
Dinnerware decorated with latex resist
|
Glazing made easy : what to do with test glazes that did not work. Glaze materials are expensive and many times we test glazes that has potential, but is not necessary what we wanted, or it may take many more tests to get what we want. I am one of those potters that do not easily trash anything. So I am always making plans to utilize what I tested and many times I found hidden treasures where I least expected it. In this video I show you how I use glaze tests from the Glazing made easy e-course that either have some potential or did not work at all.
You can also create new and fresh glazes from old glazes. Just make sure that you test it properly and that the end result fit your clay body. Remember to take notes. And remember, there comes a time when tests of tests should be trashed. |
Use unsuccessful glaze tests in creative ways.
|
HOW TO SECURE A BAT ON A CLAY PADThere are a few things that will help with the success of throwing porcelain on the potter’s wheel. The clay must be soft enough for easy manipulation and well centered. Remember soft clay does not always need water; sometimes it is just thixotropic and needs to "wake up". The potter must feel comfortable behind the wheel, so make sure that everything works well and that you are relaxed.
|
|
Tips: pinching clayIn the same way that clay is pinched to stretch it out and to make it thinner, it can also be manipulated to change its form and become thicker. It takes an understanding of what happens to the clay particles.
Pinching clay is often seen as only a childrens' activity, but Antoinette spend at least 50% of her time on pinching her work to the right thickness. |
|
Antoinette Badenhorst carving & altering porcelainThis video of Antoinette was recorded during her hands-on workshop at the Pottery Studio in Bryanston in South Africa. She shows how to throw a big porcelain bowl on the pottery wheel, add more clay to it, cut and carve it and alter it to get translucency. Carving can be done from wet to bisque. Make sure the tools are right for the clay stage.
|
|
Throwing a 25 lb porcelain wide rimmed open bowlPorcelain clay demands just as much technique and maybe more. It is not so much that the Diva wants to be difficult, but you know she is a water addict right? That means she will drink in as much water as quickly as she can and just when you think she is satisfied, she collapses on you! So learn to understand porcelain; learn the characteristics
|
|
How to center clay on the potters wheel. Centering clay on the potter’s wheel is one of the first, and by far the most important activity that any potter must learn before it is possible to throw a pot.
To center clay, potters uses technique. Strength builds up over time. |
|
|
Altering and carving a wide rimmed bowlOne of my favorite activities in porcelain is to alter and carve the clay. It is wonderful to feel the clay respond to my intuition.
These large bowls are especially enjoyable, but it requires fine concentration and a steady hand. |
Coiling and pinching porcelainAntoinette teaches her students how to do coiling in the beginners pottery class. In her hand building porcelain class she show various methods with coiling and pinching porcelain. She teaches potters in detailed videos which pottery tools to use for trimming porcelain handmade sculptures.
|
|
|
how to recover with porcelain wheel thrown errors.What happens when you use too much water when throwing a porcelain bowl on the wheel. Antoinette shows how to use the water addiction of the Diva of clay (porcelain) to push the limits and shows how recover when you get a booboo with your throwing skills.Refine porcelain throwing skills.
|
How to create a pottery wheel plaster bat systemBuying pottery wheel bat systems are expensive, but you can do it yourself (DIY) in your studio. Antoinette Badenhorst and David Voorhees are professional potters with a combined experience of almost 80 years in teaching potters how to work with clay.
|
A sketch of how to create your own plaster bat system.
|
Observe how the particles inside a piece of clay move during wedging.
|
Wedging clay using the bull's head technique.Clay wedging is explained and demonstrated in one of Antoinette's online classes. Students learn in these porcelain e-courses how to wedge clay, throw on the wheel, trimming techniques, hand building and many more about porcelain, the Diva of clay. This video that shows how Antoinette wedges clay is a snippet from one her e-course "Understanding Porcelain"
|
Clips from Antoinette's hands-on workshops
|
Throwing porcelain, altering porcelain, pinching porcelain and understanding porcelain are all elements of the "Diva" of clay that are included in the online porcelain classes of Antoinette Badenhorst. Students learn to push their own limits and are challenged to show the translucency in porcelain. Video clips show workshops in Canada, South Africa as well as snippets from porcelain e-courses that Antoinette presented.
|
throwing a wide rimmed porcelain bowl
|
Antoinette demonstrates throwing a wide rimmed Southern Ice Porcelain bowl. Southern ice porcelain is one of the more difficult porcelains to throw on a potters wheel, because it is less plastic than other clay bodies. I used approximately 3 lbs (1.3kg ) clay to demonstrate how I do this.
|
|
Trimming a wide rimmed Southern Ice porcelain bowl.
|
Note how I start trimming. First the interior and then the exterior wall. It is easier to judge the wall thickness while trimming right side up and if the interior is perfect, the exterior can just follow.
The right timing to trim a bowl is important. If it becomes too dry, it becomes difficult to trim and it may crack, if it is too wet, the bowl or plate may slump inward. |