SADDLE
ca: FALCA
es: CUÑA
Saddle is a bar of refractory kiln furniture in the form of a concave triangle and is made in different sizes.
SAFETY
es: SEGURIDAD
Safety: Many products used in ceramics contain toxins, which are poisonous. Read all instructions carefully; mark them clearly so everyone using them is aware of their dangers and wear gloves and a mask while working, particularly spraying, cleaning and working with the slip and glazes.
SAGGAR
es: GACETA
Saggars are very strong boxes made of refractory clay and are designed to hold glazed ware and protect it from open flame, smoke, gases and flying ash present in wood fired kilns. As the main method of firing is now electric they are used less but are still used by large industrial ceramic firms to shield ware from variations in heat and kiln debris.
SALAD BOWL
ca: ENCIAMERA
es: ENSALADERA
Salad bowl: is a large deep dish of any size that is used to hold many different foods such as fruit, salads, etc. They are all the same but with their own name, salad bowl, fruit bowl, soup bowl, etc.
See: Bowl
SALT GLAZE
es: ESMALTE SALINO
Salt glaze. Pottery referred to as salt glazed or salted is created by adding common salt, sodium, chloride, into the chamber of a hot kiln. Sodium oxide as a flux and reacts with the silica and clay in the clay body. A typical salt glaze piece has a glassine finish, usually with a glossy and slightly orange-peel texture, enhancing the natural color of the body beneath it.
Technical process
Salt fumes have a dramatic effect on clay under heat. When kiln temperatures reach the melting point of common salt, approximately 900 °C (1660 degrees °F), granulated or rock salt can be introduced into a kiln through peepholes or other openings. This results in a surface blush of color formed on the ware body. At higher temperatures, over 1280°C (2350°F), the traditional temperature of high fired salt ware, salt becomes an active vapor throughout the kiln interior. A dilute form of hydrochloric acid is given off as a vaporous by-product.
First introduced in the 14th century, the process was initially used on earthenware which was fired from green (unfired) to finished ware in a long, slow cycle. However, the process was soon adapted to stoneware which can either be fired in a one fire cycle or in two stages, a “bisque” fire and a final “high” fire. This two stage process results in a semi-vitreous state at a lower bisque temperature. Ware is then allowed to cool to room temperature for decoration before a further firing.
Salt can also be used as a decorative element on selected individual pots. Bisque ware can be soaked in a brine solution to create salted patterns. Rope and other textiles can also be soaked in brine and wrapped around bisque ware. Salt can also be added, in solution, to colored clay slips and can be sprinkled onto bisque ware in pottery containers called sagger..
A related method, called soda firing, substitutes soda ash (sodium carbonate, Na2CO3 ) and/or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) for salt and is an increasingly common alternative. Unlike salt, which will fume throughout the kiln, soda must be introduced in a manner that spreads it around the ceramic ware, such as by spraying. Soda glaze produces results similar to salt glaze, with subtle variations in texture and color.
Salt glaze; The data on the first known production was around the fifteenth century, it was an anonymous source in Germany. A potter threw salt in a kiln, while it was firing and when he opened it he found it had a crystal clear finish. It was a reaction between the salt and the silica of the clay. During the seventeenth century English potters imported the technique from Germany and made it thrive. In the same century some German potters immigrated to the United States and applied their knowledge on it on earthenware rivaling the production produced in England. The salt glaze, became known in Japan through the collaboration of the potters Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach Britain.
SAND
es: ARENA
Sand with clay: There are many different types and colors used in pottery to give texture and colors to clays.
Sand with firing: When firing large heavy objects, like tiles, they should be laid out separately with a thin laiyer of sand between the shelf and tile, this is to help their movements as they shrink during firing.
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A sedimentary material consisting of small, often rounded grains or particles of disintegrated rock, smaller than granules and larger than silt. The diameter of the particles ranges from 0.0625 to 2 mm. Although sand often consists of quartz, it can consist of any other mineral or rock fragment as well. Coral sand, for example, consists of limestone fragments.
SANDING BLOCK
es: TACO DE LIJA
Sandpaper block holds the sandpaper to use straight away. It can be renewed and changed to the strength needed. Good to use when making a smooth surface on green ware. It is sold in sheets with different textures and they measure 23×28 cm. To use cut it widthwise into 4 pieces e) 7× 23 cm and when put together the size should be comfortable to hold.
You can buy or make a block.
To make.
a) Small block; b) Thick block; c) Sand paper; d) Screw; e) Sandpaper new and cut to size.
1) It is made up of two small blocks of wood, the top one a) 2cm thick and the bottom one b) 7cm, the correct length and width to hold the sand paper c).
2) When put together the size should be comfortable to hold.
3) There are two screws to hold the two pieces of wood together d).
4) If you put in screws with a head, this makes it easier to change the sand paper but make sure that between the two there is room to hold it.
To buy.
1) They are in two parts, made in plastic, one side flat for the sand paper and one curved for the hand.
2) Inside on each one there is a rectangle wall, one fits inside the other to hold the two parts together.
3) The sand paper is raped round the flat part which on the inside has 4 metal pins to hold it in place,
4) When both parts are clipped together, you have your sand paper block.
SAUCER
es: PLATILLO
Saucer is the plate that goes beneath a cup. It has two purposes, one to hold the cup in place and the other to catch the liquid spilt from the cup. It can be thrown and made on a wheel or with a mold. The outer edges should slant slightly upwards to hold in spilt liquid and the center should be lower than the wall and wide enough to take the foot of the cup, to prevent the cup from slipping. A saucer also has a foot to strengthen and steady it.
SAWDUST FIRING
Sawdust firing: It is an easy way to fire clay, the pieces are smoked with sawdust.
Build with bricks a shaped cube with a removable lid. A clay pot or a metal bucket can also be used, the hole at the top serves for the circulation of smoke and it rises above the clay. Fill it with the pieces which have to be fired and add sawdust. Each piece must be surrounded by sawdust and must not touch each other. The number of pieces depends on the size of the container. Put a few sheets of newspaper and bits of wood at the top and set light to it. So the sawdust starts burning at the top and moved downwards. Cover it with the lid and leave it firing until the sawdust is consumed, it may take up to 24 hours. Allow it to cool slowly; the clay has been converted into smoked bisque.
Scoop is used for scooping up large quantities of powder; it can be bought in plastic or metal and is made in different sizes. It is long and flat on the front side and the other three have a high wall. SCOOPER for clay
ca: GRATADOR
es: RASPADOR
A clay scooper is a metal triangle for slicing and separating larger chunks of clay. The first drawing is a large one to remove clay from the container and the following one is smaller and used for modeling. It is also very good for mixing products that are made-up with water and have dried out, such as a glaze-base or a prepared color. The small one is also known as Loop Tool.
SCRAPER
es: ESPÁTULA
Scraper is an ordinary tool used to scrape off wallpaper and used in ceramics to clean up after working wet or dry materials, clays, powders and liquids. The two main types are metal and plastic; the metal ones have sharp corners and are slightly pliable and the plastic ones are used in the kitchen for cleaning plates. Both are very useful.
SCRATCHING
Scratching is to scrape outlines, shapes and textures into dry or soft clay. When finished, sweep it with a large soft brush and clean and level it off with a flexible kidney. It can be decorated in two ways, covered with a colored slip or transparent glaze. The shadows, caused by the indents, will bring out the pattern or the indents can be filled up with a colored slip. When dry they are leveled out and the clay round them cleaned of any slip. It is then all painted with transparent glaze.
See: Incising
SCREEN PRINTING
ca: SERIGRAFIA
es: SERIGRAFÍA
Screen printing is a method of printing through a mesh stretched onto a frame called a screen, which carries the color emulsified using a squeegee. The printing system can be repeated as many times as you want without losing definition.
It fits perfectly onto a flat surface, so it is basically used on tiles.
Screen printing is a printing system which has lasted for centuries.
SCREEN PRINTING (1) The ways of working
es: SERIGRAFÍA (1) Para imprimir
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Screen printing: is to mark a design onto an object by passing a liquid color through the mesh of a screen. Screen printing can be done onto many materials, cloth, glass, etc. Here we cover the two methods used in ceramics.
Printing onto an in-glaze base (crude glaze-base)
Printing onto an on-glaze base (fired glaze-base) This is shown in two sections direct printing and indirect printing.
The following is an explanation of how to use these methods as an addition to your ceramic work. To do this, you are not going to have time to learn to make your frames, stretch and mount the mesh and make the stencils needed for your designs. This you should have professionally done, it is quicker, cheaper and better.
The difficulty is that to photo stencils directly onto a screen the lines of the design must be completely opaque. If not, when being exposed to the light for stenciling, the parts the light passes through hardens and become impervious to ink. In other words, the parts of the design where the ink is not strong enough will not come out.
THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF PREPARING A DESIGN
The following show two ways to prepare the design.
1) Make a design on your computer to the size needed. Enlarge it so you can see it clearly to be sure the black solid and the white very clean. Then the firm that makes your screens will prepare it so it can be used.
2) A design prepared in the following way, can be put directly onto the screen. Do a drawing of the design so it can be traced onto paper that is called “Drafting film double-matt polyester” which is transparent and use paint known as a “photo-negative,” which is opaque, black and made for retouching negatives. With the same type of brush you use to decorate, using the ink mentioned trace the design on to the polyester paper. The paint can be mixed with water but be careful as it must be completely opaque. If copying from a drawing and the paper you are working on is not very transparent, work on a designer’s table which has a glass top and is lit up from underneath. The problem with this method is that if you make a mistake it is very difficult to correct and the advantages is that the movements of the paint brush come out in the outlines when printed by hand.
SCREEN PRINTING (2) Materials to work with
es: SERIGRAFÍA (2) Material de trabajo
a) The table and screen: Are metal and attached by hinges, a structure that holds the screen in place so it can be raised or lowered. It has height adjustment points that keeps the screen at 45 °, (so the leftover paint on the back of the screen will not run off, which would happen if you moved it to 90 º). The table with the screen is useful for printing large quantities in various colors as it firmly holds the frame in the right place.
b) Screen support: Are arms well secured it to the table to hold the frames of the screen correctly in places. Two arms are need for one frame.
c) Table for working: This table to work on has three frame supports, spaced so to work with frames of different sizes, big and small.
d) Details of the arm: Side view of the frame supports. The back of the edge of the table has three sections have to be cut out, one for each arm. This allows the edge of the table to be flat against the wall, which helps to steady it.
e) Squeegees: Have a synthetic polyurethane blade, set into a wooden handle and they are used for to uniformly apply colors through the screen over tiles. You need several sizes.
f) Squeezes filing: The blade wears down and gets rounded off; this hinders and can spoil your work. You can file them down yourself by hand or ask the firm where your screens made, most have the courtesy to do this service.
g) Detail of the hand filing a squeeze: It is two pieces of wood joined together at 90º. It should be wide enough on one side to hold the sandpaper and on the other to be fixed to the edge of a table with a clamp. The center bar should be lower than the squeegee, so there is enough space at the top to hold it while filing.
SCREEN PRINTING (3) Preparing the screen
es: SERIGRAFÍA (3) Preparando la pantalla
Click on the title to see more images
The following is an explanation on how to use this method as an addition to your ceramic work. Only the outlines are printed because in the Majolica method the use of the brush strokes for shape and density and the over lapping of colors is very important and this cannot be done with screen printing as the colors are always flat. Screen printing is much quicker and cleaner, it saves pouncing, marking with charcoal and painting the outlines.
PREPARING A DESIGN
The frame for two tiles measures 30×40 cm, the measurements are always the ones inside the frame. The designs and screen used through the following sections will be the same. Two separate tile designs, each measuring 15×15 cm. in one screen. The first is a chiropodist and the second a builder. Make the drawings as explained to the size needed for the tiles. The border lines of the tiles are not in the stencil, so make guide lines in relation to the size of the two tiles being used; this is so you can place the screen correctly when printing. The guide lines are outside the tile so when printing, if paint goes through, it does not dirty the tile.
CODING THE SCREENS
Mark the frames on the outside, with their code number and name which must be readable and understandable. Always mark on the same side, with the mesh upwards. When kept, they should be placed upright on shelves so that what is written can be read with one’s head in the same direction and it makes taking out and putting them back in the right place easier.
SCREEN PRINTING (4) Setting up a screen
es: SERIGRAFÍA (4) Creación de una pantalla
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1) Lay the screen on the table and attach the two arms, evenly spaced between the two sides of the frame and tighten them.
2) Put two fired white tiles on the table, on the left two bisque tiles and in front a metal bar that is longer than the width of the table. Move the screen right down; through the mesh you can see the white tiles, move them until they are correctly place in relation to the designs on the screen.
Note: once you have printed, painted and fired the designs use them instead of white tiles.
3) Life up the screen and move the bisque tiles next to the white ones and put something heavy on them so they do they do not move.
4) Put the metal bar next to the tiles and at each side of the table, fix it with clamps so as not to move,
5) Pull down the screen again to check and make sure nothing has moved.
SCREEN PRINTING (5) Setting up a table
es: SERIGRAFÍA (5) Instalar una mesa de trabajo
Table layout: On the right the basin of clean water, a role of paper toweling, a pot with the prepared paint on a plate, two brushes one big and soft to clean the tiles, the other to put the paint on the screen, a pole for mixing the color and a squeege for pulling the paint over the screen.
A list of what is needed to work with
Basin: A plastic basin full of clean water to clean the screen if needed.
Bits: Two small tiles to hold up the front of the screen.
Cards: Have and old set of playing cards to build up the height of the bits.
Clamp: Two clamps to hold the metal bar to the table.
Cloth: To clean the screen with.
Colors: The prepared color. Mix one part of the colors to three parts transparent glaze. Add water and a little medium, stir it well, and pass it through the sieve. It should be a thickish liquid and it is the color we use for outlines, it is 50% brown dark and 50% brown red.
Hand paper A large roll of hand paper to clean the screen with.
Heavy objects: To put on top of the bisque tiles to hold them in place.
Medium: Is a liquid added to colors to help them run well, it makes them more pliable.
Metal bar: A flat bar of metal, longer than the width of the table and about 2cm wide, this is to hold the tiles correctly and stop them from moving.
Paintbrush: A large, soft paint brush with straight hair for dusting the tiles.
Paintbrush: A large one to move paint from the pot to the screen.
The squeegee: The tool used to pull the paint over the screen.
Tiles: Bisque tiles for spacing and holding in place the tiles that are going to be printed in place.
Tiles painted: Two decorated tiles, if possible with the same design as the ones that are to be printed
SCREEN PRINTING (6) Printing
Sreen Printing
a) The tiles have been placed correctly in relation with the screen. You must check that the space between the screen and the tiles is correct when it is pulled down.
b) Put bits on the table to support the front two corners of the screen so it rests on them when pulled down. Pull it down and hold it so it touches the bits on both sides, look between the screen and the tiles, there should be a parallel space of about ½cm between them. Adjusted this; by turning the knobs until it is correct..
c) Side view, showing that the mesh only touches the tile while the squeegee is being used.
Note: This can become complicated if the wood of the frames, with age warps or the business that makes the screen has not placed the design parallel to the frame.
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d) Slightly lift the frame, dip the big paint brush into the paint and put a line of it along the back, without touching the design.
e) Lower it without touching the tiles, move the squeegee pulling the paint over the screen, from the far side to the near side.
f) Move the excessive paint, at the top to the right and then to the bottom.
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g) Pull down the frame and hold the it down with your left ha and with your right pull the squeeze over the screen, keeping it at 45º. Do it several times until the outline are completely covered. Lift up the screen and move the excess paint to the right and then down to the bottom placing it for the next printing.
h) The printing finished.
i) Lift them up the tiles, on the back paint its number and code and then put them separately on the shelves to dry.
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Chiropodist and builder
The first tile shows the outlines and the next is painted and fired.
Note: There is another way to print the tiles; the screen is laid and held down, the paint is added in the same way and then pulled directly over the screen.
SCREEN PRINTNG – ODD THINGS TO KNOW
1) It can be done in two or three movements either length or width wise.
2) The paint being used must have the right density and be well mixed.
3) If you are printing designs of more than one tile, as the edges are slightly curved, without adding any more paint pull the squeegee over the part where they connect.
4) The screen can get blocked while working for various reasons, the glaze base can be too damp or too dry or the screen too close to the tiles.
5) When the screen being used is blocked, do not dismount it. Have a basin with clean water, a cloth and a roll of hand paper. Clean it on both sides and the front that touches the tiles must be dry before using it.
SCREEN PRINTING (7) Big screens
es: SERIGRAFÍA (7) Pantallas grandes
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Screens can be any size height wise or lengthwise but you must take into account the distance you can stretch your arm to work comfortably and the size of the table you are working on, as to keep the paint running smoothly, the bigger the distance the more difficult it is. When using the screens place them horizontally, so when printing and moving the squeegee downwards, this is the shortest distance. The biggest screens we use are for 6 tiles (2×3) and 8 (2×4).
This design above has been shown right through the Majolica method. There are 30 tiles, 6 length wise and 5 height wise and it is separated into five sections of six tiles, so there are the five screens for this design. When printing they are used horizontally. The screen shown was incorrectly mounted. Look at it and you can see the larger spaces are at the top and bottom; these should have been on the long sides as we work with the screen horizontally, not vertically.
When you take the design to be mounted as well as “F” for front in the top right hand corner write “T” for top. Then the firm that mounts them knows which way it has to be printed and on which sides the extra space should be left.
SCULPTURE
es: ESCULTURA
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone (either rock or marble), metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded, or cast. Sculptures are often painted.
Because sculpture involves the use of materials that can be molded or modulated, it is considered one of the plastic arts.
From: The Free Dictionary
SCUM
es: SCUM
Scum is efflorescence in clay: When red clay is fired and becomes bisque, sometimes bits of white scum can form in the surface that cannot be seen in the clay. They are very difficult to remove and if removed will leave an indent in the surface of the bisque. If not removed, scum will damage the glaze and leave a round eaten out space when the clay is fired.
SEAL
es: SELLO
Seal in the past was used for registering property, letters, etc. Hot wax was put over a small space where the two parts join and stamped with the owner’s trade mark; this sealed the letter and proved it had not been opened.
A seal is now used by potters as a trade mark. It can be made in clay or any other material, have any shape, round, square, etc. and long enough to hold comfortably. At one end the trade mark is modeled in relief or recess and if made in clay it should be fired. This method is only needed if you want a special design, like your initials. If not, you can find a small object with a shape you like and indent it into the clay.
SEDIMENTARY CLAYS
Sedimentary clays are also known as secondary clays. They are clays that have been displaced and eroded by earth movements throughout thousands of years.
SEGER CONES
es: SEGER CONOS
Seger cones are for measuring heat in kilns and were made and invented in Germany in 1886 by Dr. Hermann Seger. Their shape is an elongated triangle, coded by numbers and colors. The color is to help distinguish the different degrees, as there are many and so small that it is difficult to read the indented stamp. There are two types; Mini Cones which are placed in the sensing rod and when the kiln arrives at correct heat they bend, cutting off the electricity and Standard Cones which are for testing the heat in different parts of the kiln.
Note: Under the word Cone there are five sections explaining how to use them.
SGRAFFITO
es: ESGRAFIADO
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Sgraffito is basically simple but can reach very elaborate standards in designs and craftsmanship. The method is to put slip over clay, then scratch the slip off and make a design by revealing the clay body underneath. The color of the slip, against the color of the clay, accentuates the design. The slip should be made up with the same clay as the body so the shrinking is compatible.
Many of the clay fragments found in archaeological sites, are sgraffito and they show either a sign of what is in the jars or as a decorative elements, with style and originality and sometimes they had pictorial motifs.
Photos lent by Anna G. Capell
SHAPE CUTTER
Shape cutters are metal tubes that are formed with different shapes. They have an arm that pushes the clay down forming the same shape and size as the cutter. You can repeat the shapes, forming a pattern.
SHIELD
es: ESCUDO
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Shild is a piece of armor designed to be carried on the left arm and in front of the body as a defense against swords, lances, arrows, etc. and made in many different shapes and sizes. It is mostly shaped like a “U” but with a broad top and pointed bottom and often decorated with heraldic bearings.
The photos show a cross section of ways to make shields in ceramics.
(a) It was formed in refractory clay and all of it is flat except the outer edges of the shield. It is in nine pieces, The clay was faired at 1280 Cº, then decorated with colors that vitrify at 980ºC.
(b , c, d) These are different shields done on different size tiles using the Majolica method of decorating.
(e, f, g) The last three are designs of six tiles, which we use them to put round a shield required by a customer.
Other words with a very similar meaning; heraldry, coat of arms, arms, crest and emblems.
SHIVERING
es: DESCASCARADO
Shivering, and peeling are defects in glazed; it shrinks too much for the clay when fired, causing it to peel.
Shoulder part of a jar that bends in before the neck.SHRINKING
es: REDUCCIÓN
Shirking is an unwanted reduction in sizes of products like wool or cotton, caused in by overheating while being washed, In pottery clay shrinks with the heat of firing, this is accepted by all potters and taken into account when producing work that has to be an exact size. The higher the temperature the more clay shrinks, so all pieces that have to fit together must be fired to the same temperature.
See: Clay Shrinking
SIEVES
es: TAMICES
Sieves can be square or sound, with wooden or metal frames, of different measurements and made up with mesh of different seizes. Powders and liquids are passed through to clean and separate any lumps or foreign bodies that might exist, which also to help integrate the different products being mixed.
Sieves
a) Made of wood, in different sizes with different grades of mesh which cannot be changed.
b) Made of metal in different sizes with different grades of mesh and some can be changed.
c) Sieve – funnel in two pieces. consists of two pieces; a sieve that fits into the top of the funnel that is narrow enough to fit into the neck of a jar or bottle. They are small and used for preparing colors, so they can be passed straight through the sieve into the jars where they will be kept. It is known under the name Cup Lawn in this section there is more information and illustrations
d) Made in wood and square, to required measurements and mesh.
e) Sieve – rotary Made in plastic or metal and all the parts are dismountable. It has a cross bar that supports the handle, when turned rotates a brush over the mesh and pushes the substances, liquid or powders through. It is known under the name Rotary Sieve in this section there is more information and illustrations
e) Sieve – vibrator are made for sieving liquid slips and glazes and are electrically controlled. They are buckets made in different sizes and materials; rubber and plastic. Have a lid that holds a changeable diameter sieve, there are three, each with a mesh of a different sizes: 60’s, 80´s or 100´s. It is a bucket with a motor attached to the lid, which vibrates so the liquid goes through the sieve, and is cleaned and mixed.
Signature is to write your name, business name or code to a finished piece of work so that it is recognized as yours and no one else can claim it. SILICA
es: SILICE
Silica is the chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica (from the Latin silex), is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO2 and has been known for its hardness since antiquity.1 Silica is most commonly found in nature as sand or quartz, as well as in the cell walls of diatoms. It is a principal component of most types of glass and substances such as concrete. Silica is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust. It is a raw material for many white ware ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
From: Wikipedia
SILK SCREEN
es: PANTALLA DE SEDA
Silk screen known under this name as the original ones were made of silk. This method is now known as screen printing and is used on many different materials with slightly differing methods.
Note: The following is the first section of six on screen printing.
See: Screen printing
SKIRTING TILES
es: ZÓCALO AZULEJOS
Skirting tiles are made to go round the edge of the wall that joins the floor and are of the same, strong materials as floor tiles. Some firms make skirting tiles and corners external and internal to match with a floor tile.
Skirting Tiles; a) Straight b) Curved c) Corner outwards d) Corner inwards
SLAB - Building
Slabs are clay rolled out into flat, even pieces that can be any shape or size, usually square or rectangle. They are draped over or into plate molds, rolled around cylinders to make tubes or built up into geometric forms like boxes and cut to make tiles.
SLAB - Building boxes
es: PLACAS - Construcción de cajas
Square shapes for boxes and pots built up with slabs of clay.
Method of working – making a slab pot
1) Roll out the clay to the required height.
2) Leave until it is leather hard
3) Using a very fine, sharp, pointed knife, cut the clay into the sizes needed.
4) All the parts to be joined must be scored and covered with slurry.
5) Make slurry from the clay being used.
6) Joint two walls at a right angel.
7) Add a very thin cord of clay to the inside joint.
8) With a tool push it into the joint, round it and level it out.
9) See that the outside joints are well closed, add a little clay if needed to seal and smooth it so they cannot be seen
10) Join the 4 sides and the base.
The top it can be left open, have a lid or have slab joined to it with an opening to hold flowers and the corners on the outside can be left as they are with the sharp angle, rounded or flattened.
SLAB - Cutter
Slab cutters are instruments to cut clay in slices of different heights. Home-made ones are good for small quantities. Each side is built up with pairs of narrow planks of wood that can be the same or of different heights. Each has a hole at one end and are slipped over the metal poll, this allows them to be turned outwards so the wall are at the height you need. Clay is put between the two walls; it must be higher than them. To cut a wire cutter is held at the back, firmly on top of the wood it is pulled through the clay. Then the bars at the side are turned outwards to the height you want to cut the slab. You cut again in the same way and you have your slab.
The first drawing shows a handmade slab cutter and the second is a close up of how the metal bar is attached under the floor. For large quantities, industrially made ones should be used.
SLAB - Rolled tubes
Rolled clay – clay tubes. You can make a clay tube by rolling clay round cylinders that can be made of cardboard, wood, metal, etc. You must wrap the cylinder with several layers of wet paper, doing this makes it easy to separate them when the tube is finished.
Working sequence
a) Put the cylinder on top the clay and lift up one side.
b) Lift up the other edge until the edges overlap.
c) Cut through both at 45º and remove the unwanted bits on both ends. Lute and paint the edges with thick slurry, join them firmly and level out till the joint cannot be seen.
Note: (d – e) The place where the two sides join can be made to protrude or overlap as decoration.
f) Cut out the floor, a circle of clay the same diameter as the outer edge of the clay tube.
g) Attach the floor to the tube.
h) Fill up and level off all the joins so they cannot be seen.
Leave it lying on its side to dry until the clay is strong enough not to bend, then pull out the cylinder leaving the paper inside. This must be done at this point, as the clay shrinks while drying and would break if left against the solid cylinder. When dry enough, stand it up and take out the paper.
SLAB - Roller
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Slab roller: is a very useful tool in a workshop to make flat blocks of clay, in various sizes height wise, they are manually controlled. On each side is a handle to vary the height which the clay can be rolled out to. They are made with two rotating rollers mounted on a rigid, metallic surface. You can roll out sheets of clay between 0.2 mm up to 5 cm high. The thickness is obtained by millimeter rules placed on both sides.
Industrial electrical rollers are made for manufacturing tiles, mosaics, tiles, bricks, etc.
The photos show a slab roller on a table to work by hand.
SLAB - Roller slabbing
es: PLACAS - Rodillo
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Preparing a slab of clay with a slab roller
a) The board which is going to be used to make a slab of clay. b) Lay a cloth over the board, put the lay on it and hammer it out with you fist lengthwise. c) Hammer the clay out widthwise. d) Set the height of the roller, on both sides, to the height you require. e) The clay prepared. f) Cover the clay with another cloth. g) Start to turn the roller. h) The clay half rolled. i) The cloth lifted up to show the part of the clay still to be flattened. j) The rolling finished. k) The slab finished
Note: The cloths with must be used, if not the clay that is damp will stick to the roller.
Slabs can be used for many things molds, tiles, building up tubes, boxes, etc.
Photos taken in the studio of Nuria Pié
SLAB - Slabing with a rolling-pin
es: PLACAS - Con un rosillo de cocina
Slab rolling with a rolling pin. On a sheet of canvas put the clay already prepared, press it out to form roughly the shape you want, round, square or rectangle. With a pair of bars that are the same size, put one on each side, then with a rolling pin that is long enough to rest on both bars, roll backwards and forwards over the clay to flatten it out. Reverse it several times to make sure both sides have no faults and continue until the rolling pin rests on the bars and cannot flatten the clay any more. Then you will have your slab.
Slats are thin pairs of wooden bars, put each side of the clay to use as height guides when rolling out clay. They are known by several different names, Bars, Guide bars, Battens. SLIP CASTING
Slip casting is a method for the mass-production of pottery. Its greatest advantage is that an exact shape can be repeated hundreds of times. It is especially good for shapes not easily made on a wheel, like plates with very low borders. Most of the pottery figures found in the shops are cast.
Slip or liquid clay is poured into a plaster mold, plaster absorbs water so as it reduces, layers of clay build up against the inside walls of the mold. When most of the liquid has been absorbed what remains is poured off. It is left to dry and when drying it shrinks, so that when opened it is easy to remove. Where the parts of the mold join an uneven surface will have been left which will have to be trimmed. The product is left to dry and when dry it becomes what is known as green ware. It can then be decorated with a transparent glaze or colored slips, the two can be fired together or it can be fired and then decorated and fired again.
Link to Slip Casting in Basic-Stuff.
SLIP DECORATING
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Slip decorating A slip for colors is fluid and mixture with colors. It’s prepared, starting with liquidized white clay, then adding oxides or colors in the required proportions. The clay is decorated when leather-hard state, by immersion, trailing, feathering, sgraffito, brush work, wax resist, etc. One color can be put on top of another, when dry the pieces are bisque fired, then covered with a transparent glaze and fired again.
The following photos explain different systems of less traditional ways of using slips, these methods are done by putting lairs of different colors one on top of the other, for these reason the slip must be thin, because the final density is the sum of all the lairs of it put together.
a) Background is decorated with slips of different colors, then on top the graphic patterns parts were covered with the wax (Wax resistant method) It was then cover with black slip and fired after which it was covered by a transparent glaze and fired again. Note: Parts covered by a wax are resistant to glazes, so the parts without wax are completely lost under the color put on top, in this case black.
b) Background is decorated with white a white slip and on top various colors are applied by stenciling in the following order, first green, then orange and finally yellow. The white spaces can be retouched by scraping them with a molding tool it is then bisque fired at 980 ºC. It is finished by covering it with transparent glaze and firing it again to the same temperature
c) The clay is covered with a blue slip and bisque fired at 980 ° C. When fired applied lay two or three layers of very thin different colored slips,. In this example they were applied in the following order, green, brown and white. Then, using scraping tools, remove the lairs of the three slips, until the light blue glazed base can be seen again. The outcome depends on the creativity of the potter. With this technique it is impossible to have two parts the same. The colors have to be fired again, for the second time then finish it by covering them with a transparent glaze and firing it again at the same heat. This technique has three firings all at the same temperature.
a) Detail of a piece of pottery made by ANNA G. CAPELL
b & c) Samples of decorating with slips for the studio of NÚRIA PIÉ
SLIP TRAILERS
es: PERAS
Slip trailers are manufactured in different sizes, plastic or rubber and shaped like a light bulb, with a thin nozzle about 3 cm long. They are filled with slip and with the pressure of the hand on the bulb, the slip comes out in a long line, they are used to decorate and write directly on to ceramic objects.
a) A trailer with a set of nozzles of different thicknesses.
b) It is a simple trailer made for medical purposes, are commonly used in ceramics; to remove fluid buildups and to decorate. They are filled with a liquid by suction.
c) It is a trailer but with cylindrical shape, it can be pressed to expel the slip and has changeable nozzles.
SOAKING
es: MOJARANDO
Soaking
a) Is to hold the kiln at the final firing temperature for a short time, this is done to mature the clay and glazes.
b) Tiles that have been glued to wood can be unstuck by leaving it to soak in water; the wood disintegrates and can be separated. This explained in section (f) of Mounting Tiles
SOAKING - Heat
- Soaking,* is to maintain a retention of the temperature in the kiln, for a short time at the end of the firing, which matures the clay and glazes.
SOAKING – in a liquid
Soaking is to leave a product covered by a liquid so it absorbs it. This can have different effects on different products. It can make a hard product; pliable, separate dirt from a cloth, soften glue to take pieces apart.
SOAP - DRY
es: JABÓN SECO
Soap dry is used for softening paper. If a design is on a stiff paper, rub it with a block of dry soap, this makes it more flexible.
SODIUM SILICATE
es: SILICATO SÓDICO
Sodium silicate is the common name for a compound sodium metasilicate, Na2SiO3, also known as water glass or liquid glass. It is available in aqueous solution and in solid form and is used in cements, passive fire protection, refractories, textile and lumber processing, and automobiles. Sodium carbonate and silicon dioxide react when molten to form sodium silicate and carbon dioxide.
Na2CO3 + SiO2 → Na2SiO3 + CO2
SOUNDING
es: SONIDO DE PRUEBA
Sounding is to hold a piece of pottery and tap it with the knuckle of your right hand. A high note means it is not broken and a flat one that it is cracked. It can be done with all work in ceramics once it has been fired.
See: Sounding Tiles – Sounding Plates
Soup bowl is a small high-sided basin with no border.SOUP PLATE
es: PLATO SOPERO
Soup plate is usually as large as the dining plate of the same set and has the same border. The part between the borders, the centre, is about 2 cm lower to hold soup which is a liquid.
SPATTERING
es: SAPICADO
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Spattering is to shake substances like slips, glaze-bases and glaze colors onto your work, leaving an uneven spotted texture. They can be spattered onto clay or bisque surfaces and also onto those already prepared with slip, glaze-base or a glaze-color. Different instruments are useful to create the texture; electric sprays, mouth sprays, toothbrushes, etc. To prepare big uneven surfaces, a brush made up of palm leaves is very good. Spattering can be combined with other methods and gives textures to large spaces of one color.
See: Glaze-Base Tectures
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
Specific gravity is the ratio of the mass of a solid or liquid to the mass of an equal volume of distilled water at 4°C (39°F) or of a gas to an equal volume of air or hydrogen under prescribed conditions of temperature and pressure.
SPIRIT LEVEL
es: NIVEL DE AIRE
Spirit level or bubble level is an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is level. Different types of spirit levels are used by carpenters, stone masons, bricklayers, etc. A traditional carpenter’s spirit level looks like a short plank of wood and often has a wide body to ensure both stability, and that the surface is being measured correctly. Embedded in the middle of the spirit level is a small window where the bubble and the tube are mounted. Two notches (or rings) designate where the bubble should be if the surface is level.
SPONGE
es: ESPONJA
a) Natural Sponges They are light, flexible, soft, absorbent and there are many different types, in sizes, colors textures and shapes and are fused or washing and cleaning.
b) Foam Rubber is an absorbent, porous material, such as plastic or rubber, used especially for washing, cleaning and stuffing for pillows, etc; Also known also as Synthetic Sponges.
SPONGE-STICK
es: ESPONJA - PALO
Sponge-sticks can be bought or made, they have small handles with a piece of synthetic sponge attached to one end and are made in two or three different shapes. In ceramics, they are used to smooth clay and they make it easier to reach small awkward places.
SPONGING
es: ESPONJEADO
Sponging is to dampen a sponge or foam rubber with a liquid and use it in different ways, to form textures, to clean, put on colors and smooth off a surfaces.
Ways to use sponges in pottery.
a) It can be cut into shapes that protrude or extrude forming patterns or textures. A sponge cut with protruding parts can be pressed into laid out slip or a color to remove it or dipped into a color and marked onto a piece of pottery.
b) When plates have to be painted they are stood up, rested against a strong object and balanced on top of a slice of synthetic sponge, between the plate and table. This is to stop the plate from slipping and the glaze-base being damaged. See: Majolica: Plate preparing
c) Good for cleaning and smoothing out clay.
SPOON
es: CUCHARA
Spoon is a utensil consisting of a small, shallow bowl at the end of a handle, used for serving solid food and eating liquid or semi-liquid food. They are also used to measure and mix ingredients.
Made in many different sizes to use for many different purposes.
From left to righr;
Serving spoon, Desert spoon, Soup spoon, Teaspoon, Coffee spoon, Gravy spoon.
SPRAY
es: ROCIAR
To spray is to pass a liquid on to an object using a spray. A spray with pressure expels a thin mist of liquid that breaks up into particles passed through the air onto a surface and covers an object with an even coating of fine spots. There are many types of sprays, oral and spray guns that can be controlled by the pressure of the hand or electricity. The spray is secured on to a jar filled with a liquid and when the trigger is closed it pushes compressed ait and this pushes the liquid up through the spray and out. With a good electrical spray the density and the area can be controlled.
Great care must be taken when using sprays, always use a mask.
See: Glaze-base Textures
,
SPRAY EQUIPMENT
a) Spray bottle that is plastic and controlled by hand, useful for dampening with water; clay and a glaze-base when it is too dry to decorate.
b) Suction Spray Gun. The paint is applied by the air compressed in the gun, so you get a perfect application. The container below is for storage of a liquid.
c) Mouth spray Has limited application, it is only for small details or to fix colors prior to firing.controlled by breathing. Some have a removable plastic mouth piece to make cleaning easier.
d) Spray gun with set up so you can controlled by hand and adjust the pressure.
e) A tube, one end has a gun hose and the other must be connected to the compressor.
f) Parts of the spray container, tank, cap and nozzle.
g) An electrical compact compress of 25 liters with a regulator for pressure and air
SPRAY BOOTH
Spray booth are made in many different sizes and types. It is a big box that is or can be completely open on one side. When you buy one calculate the size you need, it must be high enough to hold a hand-wheel, plus the work that is going to be sprayed. It is designed to stop the spray spreading, for health, cleanliness and to prevent waste of the color being sprayed on and it should have an exhaust fan that is attached to a tub that goes outside.
The web given below explains very well how to make a spray booth, it is not designed for pottery so you would have to make one or two changes, here are two<.
a) Make it without shelves.
b) Make it wood that is non absorbent so all the color that the spray leaves on the walls and floor can be scraped up, sieved and used again.
Link to Paint Booth
SPRIGGING
es: RAMILLETEADO
Sprigging is adding small shapes in clay to decorate another clay article, they can be flat or with a molded form. The decoration can be done with different colored clays, but it is better if all the clays are the same make. When both parts are semi-dry they must be luted and attached with slurry which works as an adhesive. Make the slurry with the clay the article is made of.
SPRING SCALSE
Spring scales operate on the premise of Hooke’s law, which states that springs stretch as a result of a specific force. The heavier the load placed on it, the more the spring stretches. The force exerted on the spring helps determine the weight of the item. These scales range in capacity from a few pounds to tons.
Spur is a small piece of kiln furniture with four points, three legs and one head and used to support pieces from underneath. See Furniture SQUEEGEE
es: RACLETA
Squeegees: have a synthetic polyurethane blade set into a wooden handle and are used for pulling the colors over the screen on to the tile. You need several of different sizes. The blade wears down, gets rounded off and this hinders and can spoil your work and your screen. You can file them down yourself, or ask the firm where you usually have your screens made to have the courtesy to do this. If they don’t, look for another firm.
SQUEEGEE FILING
es: RACLETA – AFILAR
Squeegee file is made eith two bit of wood joined together at 90º. It should be wide enough on one side to hold the sandpaper and on the other the edge of a table with wedges. The center bar should be lower than the squeegee, so there is enough space at the top to hold it while filing. This can also be used for filing down tiles.
STAIN
es: MANCHAS
Stain is a word in ceramics that has a completely different meaning from that used outside the ceramic language.
Stain usually describes foreign matter that has penetrated into a material chemically and damaged it. It can be another color or that the original color has been damaged and the stain is not easy to remove.
Stain as used in ceramics: stains are inorganic colors purchased as powder that are added to different types of bodies, slips, glazes and enamels and used for in-glaze and under-glaze decorating, Stains are prepared to use at different temperatures, but the same colors when fired at different temperatures are never exactly the same.
STAMP
Stamp: If you are going to use a design continuously, make a stamping in wood or bisque. There are two types, both are tubes that can have designs indented or protruded, as shown in the illustrations.
1) It is a tube of clay, that has the design of the stamping at one end, it must be long enough to hold comfortably while pressing it face downwards into the clay, if large and wide, make a handle like a “T” upside down.
2) It is a tube of clay, with the design round the outside and a hole through the middle, so a handle can be attached to it. These are rolled over clay, to repeat a pattern by indenting. If you have many, take into account they should be hung-up, so you know where they are. These are known as roulette wheels
STAND
es: SOPORTE
Stand is a piece of furniture in an upright or vertical position used to hold, rest or display work on. There are different stands used for different specialties. You will find stands in the following sections
See: Plate stand – Tile stand
STENCIL: (1)
es: PLANTILLA: (1)
Stencil is basically the same as Paper Resist. Paper is cut into a shape or a space is cut out of it. This is then placed on top of the object being decorated, a color is painted over it and marks the cut shape on to the object. Stenciling can be applied when producing large quantities or complicated designs with different colors that have to be repeated many times. The cutout shapes can be printed one over another, cut to fit together exactly or with a space left in between them.
The design can be cut out in two ways; both are painted on to a tile prepared with an opaque white glaze-base.
a) Plastic paper with two spaces cut out, on top of a prepared tile. b) The tile being painted. c) The tile painted. d) The plastic taken off to show the painted parts against the white background. e) Plastic paper cut out to form a shape, on top of the tile going to be painted. f) Holding the two parts in place the rest of the tile is painted. g) The spaces painted. h) The plastic taken of leaving the two shapes the white of the base.
STENCIL: (2) Filing
Stencil filing is important, because you get such a large quantity that they become very difficult to recognize. Keep a photo of the finished design, give it a name, then mark the stencils for the design with name and number as shown in Stenciling – with many colors. In this design there are four tile designs, A1 has 7 stencils, B1 has 4, C1 has 2 and D1 has 3, so in all there are 16 stencils. They must be kept flat; the best way is between pages from old magazines, putting a stencil between each page, a photo of the finished design at the front, then together in a plastic file, so the photo can be seen and keep all the different files flat in a box
STENCIL: (3) Preparing the paper
Preparing paper: If there are going to be a lot made, specially prepared paper can be purchased.
Three ways to prepare paper to make it less absorbent;
1) With wax: This is the classic method, dipping the paper into wax. Fill up a rectangular shaped tin, big enough to hang a whole piece of paper horizontally, with liquid wax. Hold the paper at both top corners with a pair of tweezers or clothes pegs. Put it straight down into the tin until covered by the liquid wax. Take it out and hang it up to dry. If this is done two or three times it will give the paper a stronger resistance. Once dried the pieces of paper can be piled on top of each other, but on a flat surface and weighed down.
a) Dipping paper into wax. b) Paper prepared with wax.
2) With varnish: Buy a strong, good quality paper and with a big brush paint it on both sides with an ordinary colorless furniture varnish, then hang it up to dry, this should be done two or three times.
3) Plastic pages used in files, buy them with a light color you can see what you are doing.
With the first two the problem is that although they have been prepared with wax or varnish if used many times they get damp and have to be left to dry, so to continue working you must have two or three of each one but plastic to clean and dry, just wipe it with a cloth and go on working.
Method of working with modern equipment:
Photo or scan the tile you have to use and make it the exact size. Draw the outlines of the tile. Work out how many you will need, these design needs seven, one for every color and two for light blue. Copy it seven times, one for each stencil, decide on the color you want to use it for and remove all the others, then mark it with its name, number and color. Print each one onto a page of clear plastic file paper. Using a cutting pad and a very sharp, fine, razor knife cut out the parts to be stenciled.
g) The tile stenciled and fired
h) All the colors except the light blue removed. The blue has to be separated into two stencils (i & j)
i) Blue stencil 1
j) Blue stencil 2
Remember:
1) The ink printed on plastic paper does not dry but as this part has to be cut out it does not matter.
2) If a part cut out is large or if it is shaped like half a circle, to hold it in place a bridge, that is a small piece of the paper, is left connecting the opposite sides. The space will have to be painted by hand after the stenciling of the color is finished.
3) Paint on plastic paper dries very quickly, remove it with a dry cloth and continue your work.
STENCIL: (4) With one color
es: PLANTILLA: (4) Con un color.
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The photos show nine stages of stenciling one tile, 20×20cm with one only color.
The design is cut out in transparent filing paper. It is laid on top of a gray material so the design can be seen in the photo. The tile that has been prepared with opaque glaze-base is laid down and on each side of it a bisque tile is laid. These are to support the plastic paper at the same level of the prepared tile to stop it bending, which would distort the design.
The paper is laid onto the tile and weighed down with bits. Mix the paint you are going to use so it all has the same thickness you require. Have a large brush to paint, dip it into the color and move it so the paint is well integrated into its hair, as you take it out press it against the inside neck of the pot to take off the excessive color and to flatten out the brush hair. Pull the brush over the stencil, painting the cut out spaces, holding it in place with you left hand if needed. Lift up the stencil and you have your decorated tile. The paint on the plastic dries very quickly, it can be brushed off and you can start again straight away.
STENCILING: (5) With many colors
es: PLANTILLA: (5) Con muchos colores
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Stenciling with many colors. The following tiles were made in about 1910; they are the bottom half of a wall in a long passage. To repair it many tiles had to be reproduced using the same method. The first photo shows the work finished.
The following explains how they were reproduced 20 years ago and in Stenciling (6) it is explained how to work today. a) Shows 16 tiles, 20 × 20 cm, there are 4 different designs, the top one and the second down, A1 and B1 are the same as the ones next to them, but in reverse, and C1 and D1 are repeated. Stenciling can always be recognized as the colors are flat and show the strokes left by the brush.
Correctly placing several stencils for one design: When working with a complicated design that has many different stencils, it is very important to place the stencils correctly, one with another, with tiles the corners can be used as a guide.
This tile was made before there were scanners and photos were in use. The following is to give you an idea of how it was done and the work involved.
1) This is to show how the design is repeated; there are 4 tiles laid out 4 times, in all 16 tiles.
2) The tracing of the original tile on transplant pepper and pounced;. Enlarge it to see how closely it is pounced.
3) In this design the colors are stenciled and the outlines are the white of the glaze-based. Work out how many stencils are needed; each color has to have one or more, this tile needs seven.
4) The paper has been prepared with wax and cut to cover the tile, with two corns that fit exactly; this is for placing it correctly and the other sides can overlap.
5) The tile has seven colors; the red of the flowers is painted by hand. Seven stencils are needed, the light blue needs two. *
6) The pounced outlines of each stencil was marked on to the prepared paper with carbon powder, these were then drawn with a pencil and when finished the powder was brushed off.
7) To cut out the shapes, two or three lairs of newspaper were laid out as flat as possible, a section of the design was laid on top and with a very sharp and fine cutting knife the spaces for each color was cut out. The lairs of newspapers allowed the knife to sink right through and move so the cutting was smooth.
8) Prepare enough of each color to paint all the tiles. Keep them in basins wide enough for the large brush that is used.
9) Lay out four or five tiles and place the first stencil correctly dip the paint brush into the color, on the side the basin push the brush to remove excessive color. Pull the brush over the space, always moving it in the same direction so the lines are continue and are straight.
10) Remove the stencil and paint the other tiles, as soon as the paper gets too damp to use put it between pages of new papers and leave it to dry then dust of the color and use it again. While drying mark on the next color continue doing this until all the colors in the five tiles are finished. Put them in a crank and start on the next five, the paper should be dry.
There are 7 stencils
a) Green, b) Dark green, c) Light green d) Light green e) Red-brown f) Yellow g) brown (The red and light blue of the flowers is painted by hand.)
STILTS - Ceramic and metal
ca: PUNTES - CERÀMICA I METALL
Stilts are functional furniture to supports work such as plates and jars that are decorated with slip or glaze while being fired.
There are several types of stilts industrially made with a ceramic or metal product. There are two types one shaped like a “Y” and the other is circle, both have three vertical legs which overlap the main part underneath and above and both ends of each one are finely pointed. They are placed between the floor and the object, so that if the glaze runs it cannot adhere them together. If the object is slightly stuck, to separate them hold the work in one hand the stilt in the other and twist them in opposite directions.
STONE WARE
ca: GRES
es: GRES
Stoneware is clay that is very hard and smooth. It can be fired up to 1280 ºC, at which point it vitrifies, making it suitable for the production of very strong objects like garden products. It is very good clay to be used with molds and it can also be turned on a wheel. Stoneware pieces, if glazed, are impermeable to liquids.
It is widely used in industry to make tiles, pavements and in the restoration of buildings
STONE WARE - GLAZES
ca: GRES - Esmalts
es: GRES - Esmaltes
Glazed stoneware; can be fired between 1200 °C and 1300 °C. You can buy them or prepare them yourself. Their main flux is feldspar and it has a percentage greater than 40/50%. Whether in an oxidant or reducing atmosphere, using electric or gas kilns very good results with high resistance can be obtained. The glazes can be transparent, glossy, satin or matte and are very resistant to water
En Europe the production of stoneware started in the X11 century in Germany
SYRINGE
es: JERINGAS
Syringe The first two photos a) and b) are syringes for medical use and the last two c) and d) are for decorating cakes. The tube is filled up with a thick liquid, the handle is pushed down and the disk at the bottom pushes the liquid out through the nozzle. They are used for putting on colors and glazes, filling up a space in the slip and also for dry cord methods.