Ellen Dreksler on wed 10 sep 03
Good morning.
I finished working on a sleeping lady and she is in the process of being dried slowly especially since there are irregular thicknesses in the piece.... however, last nite I noticed a crack in her waist.. The clay is not fully dry as yetbut getting close. I am doing external claypatch work on her but fear that is
superficial and may continue to break either before or during firing. (^04).
Can anyone please advise me as how I should proceed.
Should I just go with it and fire it and I guess epoxy it once fired..aAnd then put a
topical clay slip to conceal the crack once fired and epoxied..?
Or do you have any suggestions...? help!!! I like this piece and want to hang it on the wall. I have read, through the courtesy of teh very helpful clayart emails, that there are strong epoxies out there to hold this piece. Each piece will be about 18" in length and about 12.5 lbs in weight to be attached to a piece of wood or granite (don't know as yet)
Can anyone of you more experienced and enlighted clay artists give me advice as to what to do with this crack either in this drying stage or just wait until it is fired and deal with it at that time..
I have learned so much from all of you and appreciate your expertise and sharing of your knowledge. I am always grateful for your help.
Thanks
Ellen
in foggy Santa Monica.
william schran on thu 11 sep 03
Ellen wrote: >I finished working on a sleeping lady and she is in the
process of being dried slowly especially since there are irregular
thicknesses in the piece.... however, last nite I noticed a crack in
her waist..<
One word: paperclay
I have begun teaching my beginning hand building students, in their
first hands on class, about the virtues and process of using
paperclay to make repairs.
We use toilet paper (the cheap stuff from school). tear it up into
small pieces and add to hot water. beat with fork until broken down
to a pulp, strain out the water. Mix the paper with clay slurry in
the ratio of 1/3 paper to 2/3 slurry. Mix with fork until blended.
Make repairs jamming the paperclay into the crack. Spread out
remaining paperclay and allow to dry. When needed again, break off a
piece and add water.
Works more than 90% of the time.
Bill
Stephani Stephenson on thu 11 sep 03
Ellen
You mention that there are irregular thickness in the piece,
but don't say how much variation and what are the minimum
and maximum thicknesses so it hard to deduce if this is
the cause..
if your variation is 1/8" and you are working with a
sculpture clay, that amount of variation should not make
much difference. If the difference is 1/4 to 1/2 inch or
more and you are working with a smooth plastic clay with
little grog... it will likely make a difference.
It may be that you have a claybody which is poorly matched
to the way you work... I can't tell.
.also if the waist of the figure is at a stress point: the
forces created by clay shrinking might focus there due to
the ... ah... geometry or overall form of the piece,
gravity, location of joints, etc,.
Paper clay or a good claybody for slab or handbuilt work
will reduce problems, (though using paper clay may change
other aspects of the work, such as detail carving etc.)
if the piece is still less than leather hard you can
probably repair... but it all depends on how severe and
extensive the cracking , and many other factors....
However, I think it is very important to move forward,
get the basics right and improve one's skill at 'building '
a piece well from the very start.
Knowing that uniform wall thickness aids in even- drying and
successful firing,
work towards evening out the wall thickness as you build the
piece!
If stress or weak points occur in the overall form,
consider how to alleviate the problem, possibly by building
an inner support,
adding even small internal braces or butttress.
Well made. well constructed, or well 'engineered' hand-
built forms will lose none of their freshness or expression
or intent
They will far outshine poorly built ceramic forms
and give you fewer problems.
Stephani Stephenson
steph@alchemiestudio.com
| |
|
