A Few Thoughts on Ceramics

I'm doing some ceramic sculptures this week.  This is my second one which is a "poor beggar rat."  Just wanted to share a few thoughts/hints.

It's often a good idea, as one is sculpting, to think ahead to the glazing process.  Some sculpting choices will result in difficulties glazing and when there's an equally pleasing alternative, it might be wise to take it.  In this case, the bag in which he's collecting his alms will be difficult to glaze around.  So, I didn't attach it to the base or the rat's hand.  It's sitting loose in place.  I'll bisque fire it like this then I'll be able to remove the bag and glaze the two pieces separately.  In the end, I can use a glue like E6000, which is really good for gluing glass, to secure the bag in place.

The second hint is to include a base.  I began this piece without one.  In fact, I have seldom used bases but I plan to use more of them in the future.  An animal like this can be difficult to balance on the two hind feet.  And a lack of a base makes the tail vulnerable.

The third suggestion is to leave the finished sculpture covered with plastic for a day or two.  This allows the moisture, which will differ in various parts of the piece, to even out somewhat.

The fourth suggestion is to place the sculpture in the open kiln to dry.  This sculpture has some areas that will be very fragile when dry but before bisque firing.  Not having to move it when it's dry will help prevent breakage.

By the way, as I look at the rat I see that I need to dome the top of his head a bit more - another reason to leave the "finished" piece in plastic for a day or two - gives you a change to make corrections that you didn't see at first.