Learn to work with porcelain clay online | PorcelainbyAntoinette

Online porcelain workshops

Understanding porcelain

Understanding porcelain is a 6-week formal online workshop with an additional 4 weeks for viewing all the videos. If you want to change from stoneware or earthenware to porcelain clay, then this virtual porcelain class, that you can attend in your own place, will give you enough information to make an easy switch.
Break the myths and begin to understand the character of porcelain in these clear, close-up and detailed video demonstrations. With direct online access to Antoinette throughout the course, potters will be assisted to easily work with porcelain clay, while pushing their own limits. Whether hand building, throwing, trimming or altering on the potter’s wheel, beginners to advanced potters will learn to work easily and successfully with the “Diva of clay” and get translucent porcelain.
Antoinette explains design, firing and glazing techniques to prevent slumping and cracking and to ensure success with porcelain.

Duration of class
6 weeks formal video classes, 4 weeks reviewing
10 weeks total viewing

Contents of the class

Week 1 - Introduction to pottery clay
An overview of clay

There are 3 main types of clay available for potters: Earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. I will touch on some of the most obvious differences between these clay bodies.

Where does potters clay come from?

There are many types of material that is pliable and that is used in many different crafts. Real potters’ clay must be fired in a kiln (pottery oven) to temperatures exceeding 1050 C or 1922 F (unless it is an alternative firing) The clay that we use is earth, found in certain places where wind and water may have gathered it. I will discuss the origins of clay in general but then focus on porcelain clay.

Porcelain clay is different - comparison with earthenware and stoneware

Porcelain clay comes from different elementary clay sources and is man-made. In the Western world the raw materials for a porcelain clay recipe may be coming from different parts of the world. Potters that want to specialize in porcelain need to understand how the composition of porcelain clay differs from other clay bodies that may be found naturally in nature.

Clay preparation
The preparation of porcelain clay to either hand build or throw with it is extremely important. If you understand the character better, you will also understand how wedging porcelain improve the quality of your clay. You will also understand the importance of clay particles and how it influences the clay process.
We will discuss the topics below in detail.

Wedging clay
The nature of clay particles
The movement of particles

History and Character of porcelain
Porcelain history

There is a very interesting history behind porcelain that started centuries ago. Porcelain as it was originally mined in ancient China is completely different from what was created in the 17th century in Europe. The porcelain clay that we see today is founded in the ancient form of porcelain. Therefor it is important to understand at least some basics of the development of porcelain clay in order to understand the character thereof.

Porcelain: It’s characteristics

The basic ingredients of porcelain are silica, feldspar and kaolin. These raw materials are not very potters friendly. Over the years other raw materials were added to make the clay more plastic. Potters are still struggling with cracking and warping and often have great difficulty to throw with porcelain. The additions of other clay materials helped to make the clay more pliable and give it a better green strength, but that caused problems of its own. During this online class we explore the character of porcelain and as we get to understand the medium, it becomes much easier to manipulate the clay and become successful to eliminate mistakes and push the limits of the medium.

Week 2 - Get to know porcelain clay
Porcelain pinching
For many potters, pinching clay is a beginner’s technique, because that might have been their first experience with clay. There are potters that never learned how to pinch clay because their teacher did not see it as an important part of the clay process. This is a serious miss conception and potters that attend our e-class with us will find that out from the minute they start pinching porcelain clay.

I discuss this topic in my blog Pinch pots: Is it beginners pots or a good place to start?

Not only do my students learn why they have to pinch clay, but they also learn more about the character of porcelain in practice. They learn how the different stages of the process are affected by the drying of the clay and how they can control it.
Students work in their own time and can therefor create as many pinch pots as they wish to. There is also an opportunity to learn how to create combination pinch pots. Combination pinch pots open up the opportunity for creating any object from a round or oval enclosed form.

Why pinch bowls?
Different stages in which clay dries – storage between stages
Pinch a bowl – or bowls.
Combination pinch bowl

Trimming and finish pinch bowl
One of the reasons why potters often choose the potters’ wheel instead of doing hand formed clay work, is because wheel work is more mechanically controlled. They feel that their work looks more professional and neater than when they hand-form an object. The truth is that they simply did not learn to create a professional finish. When they learn that they can buy or create tools that will help to obtain a professional finish, a completely new world opens up to them.

Tools used
Get a professional finish.
Ideas for your pinch bowl.

Week 3: Throwing porcelain on the potter's wheel Review week 2 (Porcelain)
Pinch pots are often considered as beginner pots, but it is actually just a good place to begin. Let’s review the successes and problems that occurred during this project.

Porcelain Wheel throwing
During this class we will review wheel throwing techniques as if you are a beginner potter. We will guide all potters that want to specialize in porcelain. Unless you are an experienced potter with a solid wheel throwing porcelain background, I guarantee that you will learn something during this class. Potters tend to take short cuts with stoneware and earthenware clay, because the clay is fairly easy to master and once they developed a muscle memory, they will throw on the wheel without thinking about the process. Porcelain is too demanding to ignore the very basic steps

Bowl variations and more throwing

Translucent porcelain sculpted vessels by Antoinette.

Week 4: Trimming porcelain
Trimming basics
Porcelain requires very specific trimming tools for the different stages of the clay. We will work with all these tools, including those that are homemade and those that are needed for the porcelain potter.

We teach trimming techniques that goes beyond traditional trimming.

Tools for trimming
How to control tools while trimming
Trim basic bowl.

Week 5: Aesthetic considerations
Elements of form
The final outcome of porcelain objects relies strongly on the form and how the form works in the firing. We discuss the relationship between the making and the firing process in detail.

Considerations on decoration
Decoration for translucent porcelain can be easy or intricate. We discuss how light, and shadow plays a role in the decoration of porcelain. Every line that is made on a piece of pottery creates a certain message. The potter must know what lines influences a pot and in which way.

Week 6: Basic Glaze and Firing
Pottery glazing
Even though this is not a glazing class, it is important to have a basic understanding of glazes and how to apply it to a piece of porcelain.

Understand the bare basics of glazing
Glazing methods
I use spray glazing techniques, because my work is very thin. Regular dipping of porcelain will only wash off when the walls get soaked with the water in the glaze.

Basic kiln operation (electric)

High fired porcelain cannot be successful, unless the potter fully understands what happens in the kiln. Too often they will complain that the porcelain slumped, and they will not know why and how to correct the problem. The answer lies in an understanding of the character of porcelain. We pay special attention to different ways that porcelain can be fired and explain it so that the potter understands why he or she must take special precautions. We will discuss the firing schedules and why I fire my kilns the way I do.
Packing a kiln and firing an electric kiln

Throughout the course I will enlighten the classes with samples, sketches and other interesting materials- anything that I would have used in a hands-on pottery class.