Fine Art / Visual Art · Lesson 16

Clay, forming, decoration, firing; basketry, jewellery, calabash, leather

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: WAEC Paper 3 Section C ceramics (jugs, vases, bowls; moulded, hand-built or thrown; toy animals and figures; clay fired) and crafts (basketry incl. macramé, jewellery, calabash decoration); Papers 1/2 terms (biscuit ware), tools and materials; Section B crafts (Bida brass, calabash, Enyiresi basketry, leatherwork, weaving). JAMB Section B Nigerian crafts (pottery, leather, metal, beads, mat and…

WAEC: WAEC Paper 3 Section C ceramics (jugs, vases, bowls; moulded, hand-built or thrown; toy animals and figures; clay fired) and crafts (basketry incl. macramé, jewellery, calabash decoration); Papers 1/2 terms (biscuit ware), tools and materials; Section B crafts (Bida brass, calabash, Enyiresi basketry, leatherwork, weaving). JAMB Section B Nigerian crafts (pottery, leather, metal, beads, mat and…

NECO: WAEC Paper 3 Section C ceramics (jugs, vases, bowls; moulded, hand-built or thrown; toy animals and figures; clay fired) and crafts (basketry incl. macramé, jewellery, calabash decoration); Papers 1/2 terms (biscuit ware), tools and materials; Section B crafts (Bida brass, calabash, Enyiresi basketry, leatherwork, weaving). JAMB Section B Nigerian crafts (pottery, leather, metal, beads, mat and…

What you will learn

Explain the nature, types and properties of clay.
Describe clay preparation and hand-building and throwing methods.
Describe decoration, drying, firing and kiln types.
Explain glazes, glaze faults and types of ware with temperatures.
Discuss Nigerian pottery and Ladi Kwali.
Describe basketry, macramé, jewellery, calabash and leather crafts.

Key points

Ceramics = clay + firing.
Primary vs secondary clays; plasticity, shrinkage, porosity.
Prepare: dig, slake, sieve, dry, age, wedge.
Pinch, coil, slab, mould, slip casting, throwing.
Decorate: incise, roulette, burnish, slip, sgraffito.
Firing changes: 450–600 °C, 573 °C, vitrification.
Kilns: open, pit, updraught, downdraught, electric.
Cones: 06 ≈ 998 °C, 6 ≈ 1222 °C, 10 ≈ 1285 °C.
Glaze: silica, alumina, flux; faults; earthenware, stoneware, porcelain.
Crafts: basketry, macramé, jewellery, calabash, leather; Ladi Kwali.

Start here: Ceramics: meaning, clay and its properties

Ceramics is the art and technology of making objects from clay (and related materials) that are hardened permanently by firing at high temperature. Pottery refers mainly to vessels: pots, bowls, jugs, vases. WAEC Paper 3C ceramics covers jugs, flower vases, bowls and similar wares (moulded, hand-built or thrown) and modelled objects such as toy animals and figures; all clay works must be fired.

What clay is

Clay is a fine-grained earth formed by the slow weathering of feldspar-rich rocks such as granite. Its main mineral, kaolinite, is a hydrated alumina silicate. Its tiny, flat particles slide over each other when wet, which makes clay plastic.

Types of clay

Primary (residual) clay: found where it formed; pure, white, coarse, less plastic: kaolin (china clay), used in porcelain and as white slip and chalk (efun).
Secondary (sedimentary) clay: carried by water and deposited elsewhere, picking up impurities; finer and more plastic: ball clay (very plastic), fire clay (withstands high heat; kiln bricks), earthenware (red) clay (iron-rich, most common in Nigeria, low-firing), stoneware clay (fires dense at higher temperatures).

Properties

Plasticity: can be shaped and holds its shape.
Shrinkage: clay shrinks as it dries and again as it fires (typically about 8–12% in total from wet to fired, depending on the clay; always test your own clay).
Porosity: fired earthenware is porous (water pots cool water by evaporation through the walls); stoneware and porcelain become dense (vitrified).
Refractoriness: ability to withstand heat.

Additives

Grog (crushed fired clay) or sand opens the body, reduces shrinkage and cracking and helps large or thick works survive firing; traditional potters often add grog, sand or plant material. Paper clay (clay with paper fibre) is strong when dry.

Worked example 16.1 Paper 2: “State four properties of clay and explain why each matters to the potter.” (8 marks)

Plasticity: allows shaping and holding of form (2 marks).
Shrinkage: work gets smaller as it dries and fires, so sizes must be planned and drying controlled to avoid cracks (2 marks).
Porosity: fired earthenware absorbs water, useful for cooling water pots but needing glaze for waterproof ware (2 marks).
Refractoriness/vitrification: determines the firing temperature the clay can stand and how dense it becomes (2 marks).

Answer: Each property named and linked to practice.

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Practice questions

1. Clay objects hardened by firing are called

ceramics
sculpture in the round
mosaics
textiles

Show answer

A: ceramics
Fired clay.

2. The main traditional forming method of Nigerian potters is

slip casting
jiggering
press moulding
coiling

Show answer

D: coiling
Coil building.

3. Kneading clay to remove air pockets is

bisquing
glazing
wedging
slaking

Show answer

C: wedging
Prevents bursting.

4. Crushed fired clay added to a body to reduce cracking is

engobe
grog
slip
glaze

Show answer

B: grog
Opens the clay body.

5. Liquid clay used for joining and decoration is

slip
grog
glaze
wax

Show answer

A: slip
Clay and water.

Key words

Ceramics: Fired clay art and technology.
Kaolin: Pure white primary clay.
Grog: Crushed fired clay added to clay.
Plasticity: Ability to be shaped.
Slaking: Soaking dry clay to slurry.
Wedging: Removing air from clay.
Slip: Liquid clay.
Leather-hard: Firm but damp clay.
Bone-dry: Fully air-dried clay.
Bisque: First-fired unglazed ware.
Roulette: Rolled decorating tool.
Burnishing: Polishing clay with a stone.

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