ART TRIP

1. Find Plastic Clay
People dig their own clay from the ground and they felt the valuable connection between Earth and then-self in the past. Today people buy clay ceramics from bookstore, etc.

2. Wedging
The process of mixing the clay by rotating and pressing it on the table is called wedging. This process is very important because it presses out the air bubbles in the clay. If there are air bubbles in the clay and you fire it, the clay will explore. Which means your cup, plates, bowl, etc. will explore.

3. Forming
There are many different ways of forming a clay. You can use slab, wheel, coil, pinch, and mold. You can also combine different ways together.

4. Drying
The pieces you created must be wrapped with soft sheet of plastic and been putted on the shelves in the damp room.The plastic will slow down the drying process.

5. Leatherhard
Few days later, your pieces should be dried. During the stage of leatherhard, your pieces' clay will lose some water and will lose some flexibility too, it is a good time to carve it or add some other decorative elements.

6. Greenware
When the piece of pottery has dried completely, it is at the stage of greenware. At this time you cannot add any decorative elements anymore. Only thing you can do during this time is to place the piece in the kiln and be ready to be fire.

7. Bisque Firing
During this firing, the temperature is 1800 degrees F (approximately). This process will harden the piece. So that it will not break as easily as before. It takes three days from start to finish. First day, if you firing too fast the work can easily to explore. Second day, after the temperature has got to 1800 degrees F. The kiln will be turned off so that the piece could slowly cool down. Third day, the kiln will be open and the basque will be moved and piece will be return to lab.

8. Glazing
Glazing is the mixture of ground glass, clay, coloring materials and water. You can dip your piece in glazing, pour, spray, brushing, or sponging glazing on you piece.

9. Glazing Firing
The temperature of glazing firing is about 2350 degrees F. Once the ware is out of the kiln, then you can take it home.

10. Overglaze Firing
Sometimes potter choose to do an addition firing to achiever the colors and surface effects not possible in the glaze firing. Some techniques like China painting involve multiple glazing firings very often.

Art Field Trip Reflection

Image from deviantART

November 10th, we went to a glass factory in Hsinchu for our Art trip. We walked under sun for 10~15 min to get there. It's already very hot outside, but in the factory it's hotter.
The workers were working very hard. Non of them were chatting or spacing out. The boss said that they work 24 hours almost no resting.
The first melting process of recycle glasses it's 1500 degrees C. And second time it's about 1100 degrees C. Hsinchu is so famous for glasses making because there are many silicons and natural gasses, which is materials for making glasses. But the last 10 years, many of the glass factory move to China, and so now there are only few large factory in Hsinchu.
We saw them making glass bottles. Then they show us how to little animals like snail, penguin and sea lion. Ms. Sheilah and Mr. Marchione tried to blow the glass, but both of them fail.
Making glasses might seem easy but it is actually very hard.
I learned more knowledge about glass, I also learned more about Hsinchu's culture and history.