iandol on sat 24 may 03
Dear Tom Sawyer,
A lot of good questions which deserve proper consideration.
I think Rosette Gault has had photomicrographs made of unfired and fired =
samples of Paper clay. Brian Gartside, if he is lurking, might have more =
information on this and could possibly direct us to the literature.
I recall Brian telling his audience at a meeting of South Australia =
Potters Guild that the vegetable cells which comprise paper are hollow =
tubes. These tubes have a large diameter in relation the thickness of =
the wall of the cell. The diameter of the cavity which is present is =
very large when compared to your average clay crystal. So liquid clay is =
drawn into the tubes (Good old Capillarity!!!). They fill with clay =
giving the mixture a greater degree of solidity than we might imagine.
I suggest anyone with access to an undergrad Botany text look for the =
following key words...Xylem, Tracheid, Phloem... Images of these will =
give them a better idea of what they are playing with when they make and =
fire paper clay. They might like to look up Bast Fibres as well. Those =
derived from such plants as Nettle and Flax when treated would make an =
ideal replacement for Paper stock.
Another consideration might be to think of paper giving an ash akin to =
wood ash and we all know the fate of that when it contacts clay at =
elevated temperatures, don't we! So rather than giving a porous product, =
we might have something which tightens up due to assisted vitrification =
caused by the fluxing action of paper ash. Given these as facts, rather =
than speculation, Paper Clay may have much to offer.
Keep on asking the awkward questions.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill South, Australia
Brian on mon 26 may 03
On 24/5/03, Ivor Lewis. Redhill South, Australia wrote...
>A lot of good questions which deserve proper consideration.
>I think Rosette Gault has had photomicrographs made of unfired and
>fired samples of Paper clay. Brian Gartside, if he is lurking, might
>have more information on this and could possibly direct us to the
>literature.
>I recall Brian telling his audience at a meeting of South Australia
>Potters Guild that the vegetable cells which comprise paper are
>hollow tubes snip They fill with clay giving the mixture a greater
>degree of solidity than we might imagine.
Yes, Brian is lurking, and here I am responding by saying that my
source was the extensive research that Rosette conducted in the years
after we witnessed the beginnings of the recent paper clay phenomena
in our three month residency at the Banff Arts Centre in 1990,
I was in the group that was amazed by the use of paper pulp in large
slabs by Ibrahim (Abe) Wagh an English artist who was producing large
relief *paintings* by this method
Rosette's research was both practical and theoretical and I was in a
small way involved with the experiments in those early years. This
has all been documented in her own booklets, in the Ceramics review
magazine and most thoroughly in the book Paperclay which is in the
A&C Black Ceramic series..........I believe that a new updated
edition is due soon.
I saw the original photomicrographs that are mentioned and, not only
were they very convincing, but they explained the behaviour and the
extraordinary strength obtained by the thorough blending of the clay
platelets and the cellulose fibers.
Much has been written and said since then and many people have become
expert and pioneering in its use.
I didn't intend to join in the present debate and only do so to
respond to Ivor's post.
I will say that I do not see the logic of using paperclay for wheel
work for myself and have an instinct that porosity is not an issue if
the clay is fired to maturity
Brian Gartside
--
ceramic desigNZ
http://www.gartside.info
New Zealand
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