Hobbies Archives - Page 4 of 5

Ceramics in Magical Colours. How to Use the Colour of Clay Itself?

January 16, 2023January 16, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Decorating your ceramics can be done in many ways. Your clay object can be glazed or painted with engobes and underglazes. Even screen printing or applying transfers are possibilities.

A pure way of working is using the colour of the clay itself with at most a transparent glaze to emphasize the colours and make the object watertight.

Clay has different colours depending on the substances in the soil of the quarry. The clay you buy in the shops usually has only a few colours: it’s white, red, or ‘black’ (rather dark brown) after firing. Due to the industrialized process, the tones are generally the same every time.

Dyeing with Plants, a Natural Way of Colouring Fabric or Paper

January 16, 2023January 16, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Botanical colouring, natural colouring, or plant colouring are different names for dyeing with plants. All with the objective of having a toxic-free or almost toxic-free dyeing process.

When I was a ceramicist, I was very interested in the way colours are produced.

I made my own coloured slips for years and when I wrote my article about the different colours of clay my interest in natural colouring, in general, was aroused once again.

How to Smooth the Surface of your Clay Object – 3 Affordable Tips

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Ceramics can be produced in several ways. Each method will result in a different surface.

You can press the clay in moulds, hand-build an object, or merge slabs.

Depending on completion or decoration it can be necessary to smooth the surface as best as possible.

How to smooth the surface of your clay object? I’ll explain my methods in this article.

2022.05.26 My newest hobby

December 13, 2022May 26, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

How to Make Perfect Slabs of Clay for Hand Building Ceramics

December 23, 2022April 6, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Handbuilt ceramics, composed of clay slabs, ensures a lot of creative freedom. With slabs of clay, you can make vases, pots, and free work of all shapes and sizes.

For a professional ceramist, it is not a question of how to make perfect slabs of clay. He or she uses a slab roller. Such a device is very similar to a printing press and makes perfect slabs that are the same thickness everywhere.

It is impossible for a hobbyist to purchase such a device. It takes up too much space and is too expensive. Hence my tip, which gives just as good results.

How to Make the Perfect Clay Rolls with an Unveiled Secret Solution

January 15, 2023April 4, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Usually, our first introduction to clay is making a thumb pot. And because the size is then limited, this is followed by making clay rolls.

Making clay rolls or coils seems like such an easy technique but as with all techniques, it becomes easy with experience and the right actions.

And sometimes someone has to give you the right idea, as I learned in a clay workshop. Ideas that are like the egg of Columbus are the best, don’t you think? So, how to make the perfect clay rolls?

Attractive Combining Handmade Frames with Photoshop Editing

May 9, 2022March 19, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Combining Handmade Frames with Photoshop Skills

In this article, I explain how to make a handmade frame and combine it with layers in Photoshop in an easy way. The end result appears to be the outcome of masking, but it is actually the result of selecting and deleting.

In the starting years of the availability of computers for everyone, I met a professional illustrator who said he had bought a computer and some illustration programs because he was sick and tired of getting dirty hands while drawing.

Start Making Ceramics Now with Clay Tools from the Kitchen Drawer

March 21, 2022March 10, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Working with your hands, and especially with clay, is a great way to relax. It is also a way to develop your creativity and is very satisfying. And it does not have to be expensive at all.

Over the years I had collected a lot of professional tools for my clay processing – wire tools, knives, hole cutters, kidneys. Some were bought new, others in a secondhand shop, and some came from my kitchen drawer.

You can start making ceramics right away because most of these utensils you have in your house anyway. Buy some clay and you’re ready to go.

Combine Linocut with Clay to Create Special Ceramic Reliefs

August 29, 2023February 12, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

In this article, I describe how you can combine linocut with clay to make reliefs.

Clay is a rewarding material, both for the professional and the hobbyist. Anyone who is just starting with clay will soon have an excellent result.

Clay can be decorated with all kinds of techniques, ranging from simple to difficult. The beauty is that most techniques can be started in a simple way and gradually become more complicated.