How to Make Ceramic Statues
Art sculptures can be created out of many different materials, using many different methods. Sculptures can be formed by hand out of clay, carved from stone, built from metal, and even cast in molds. Traditional sculpture is often done in clay, which can be made soft to re-use or heat-hardened as permanent ceramic sculpture. You can make your own ceramic sculptures, such as statues or figurines, using a few basic sculpting and firing techniques.
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Things You'll Need
- Clay
- Sculpting tool set
- Electric kiln
- Firing cones
- Ceramic glaze
- Paintbrush
Instructions
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1
Choose the type of clay you would like to work with. You can choose earthenware, stoneware or porcelain, all of which have different strengths and weaknesses.
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2
Sculpt your desired statue design out of the clay, using any sculpting tools you like. When your statue is finished, take a scoop-edged tool and carve a hole into the bottom of the statue.
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3
Continue pulling clay material out from the middle of the statue until your statue is fairly hollow. When finished, set the clay statue aside to dry for two days.
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4
Set up your electric kiln for bisque firing, which is a firing process done before the glaze application that removes water molecules from the clay. Place the firing cones into the kiln sitter.
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5
Turn on the kiln and adjust the firing temperature to a low setting. Prop open the lid and let the kiln warm up for eight hours.
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6
Place the clay statue into the kiln and close the lid. Leave it for two hours.
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Turn up the temperature about 300 degrees and leave it for another two hours. Continue increasing temperature in these increments, until you reach the melting temperature for cone 07, which is about 1,770 degrees F.
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8
Leave the clay statue baking in the kiln until the kiln switch falls. Make sure that the kiln has turned off.
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9
Let the kiln cool. When you can touch the statue without getting burned, remove it from the kiln.
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10
Choose the type of glaze you would like to use on your ceramic statue. If you would like to continue using your electric kiln, you will need a glaze that is made for oxidation firing. Reduction firing glazes typically require gas kilns.
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11
Paint a coat of the glaze onto your clay statue. Let the glaze coat dry, then reapply the glaze two more times, so that you have a total of three coats. Let the glaze dry completely.
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12
Place the clay statue into your kiln, and determine the kiln temperature you need. This temperature will vary depending on the type of glaze you have chosen. For a low fire glaze, choose a temperature that melts somewhere between cone 06 and cone 04. For a medium fire glaze, choose between cones 4 and 6. For a high fire glaze, choose between cones 9 and 10. You can find a cone melting point chart in the Resources section.
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Let the clay statue bake. Cool down the kiln and let the statue cool for two days. Remove the statue from the kiln.
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Tips & Warnings
Ceramic glazing is not an exact science, and experimentation is the norm. You can test out different types of glazing techniques, such as etching, sponging, stamping, marbleizing and more, or can work with color additives to create your own look.
Some electric kilns will have pre-set cone temperatures you can punch into a keypad.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit ceramic tiger image by Eugene Tokarev from Fotolia.com
