One of the types of folk craft is the creation of ceramic products. About what ceramics is, what types it is divided into, what is produced from it, read in the article.
General information
What is ceramics? These are products made of clay that has been fired. Thousands of years passed before people were able to formulate this short definition. Man became interested in the manufacture of pottery when he stopped leading a nomadic lifestyle and began to live settled. The development of crafts was facilitated by attachment to a permanent place of residence. People passed on their skills from the older generation to the younger.
It is possible that ceramics is the first material that man created. What is ceramics? Ancient man did not divide it into types. In his understanding, the so-called products made of clay mixed with lime, quartz or feldspar. The master processed all this into a mass of one consistency, formed the product manually, and later on the potter's wheel, and fired it.
What is called ceramics?
Greek for "clay". What is ceramics? In fact, it is a mixture of natural materials such as clay,sand, zircon and others. Man has been engaged in the craft of making ceramic products in the form familiar to us since he learned the skill of melting organic particles at a high temperature - up to 2500 degrees.
Clay acquires the qualities of ceramics in fire. Products for the production of which thin white clay was used were called porcelain. White clay combined with quartz sand is faience. Products from red clay - pottery.
Types of ceramics
The art of ceramics has been a folk craft since ancient times. Products adorned the life of a person, they were an integral part of his life. Even then, ceramic objects were distinguished depending on the method of manufacture, raw materials, composition of the coating, and purpose. Pottery masters made flower pots, jugs for milk and kvass, various bowls, trays and many other items that were used in everyday life.
The natural properties of clay (plasticity and tone of the material), combined with the variety of shades of glaze, contributed to the production of real works of art. Different eras have left their characteristic features on these objects. At present, the world of ceramics has become more diverse and vibrant. Interest in artistic excellence has been preserved.
Today, ceramics is widely used in the interior of the internal space and the external facade of buildings. Decorative lattices and partitions, fireplaces, ornamental panels, vases, candlesticks, bowls, vessels are made from it. The world of ceramics aboundsspecial patterns, products for decoration. Ceramics are of the following types:
Terracotta - translated from Italian as "baked earth". The raw material for the manufacture is colored clay of a porous structure. Products are not glazed. It is used for household, construction needs and for artistic purposes. Terracotta is used to make dishes, sculptures, tiles, roof tiles, facing tiles, which are currently manufactured by Nephrite-Keramika OJSC, a leading Russian manufacturer
- Pottery ceramics - products need additional processing. Before firing, their walls are smoothed (glazed) so that liquid does not pass through them. This is done until the shine appears. Then the product is placed in a cooling furnace and kept in smoke for a long time. This process is called "staining". The product aged in the oven is taken out and lowered into water with flour. This is a "parking" or "scalding". The surface is covered with beautiful tan marks and does not let water through. Pottery is used to make household items.
- Majolica is a product made from pottery clay with a colored glaze coating. This technique is used to make decorative panels, tiles, architraves, sculptures, dishes and other items.
- Porcelain - the distinguishing features are white color, transparency and thin walls. Possesses ability not to pass liquid. Depending on exposure to high temperatures, porcelain is soft and hard. The first is used for the production of decorativeitems, and the second - for dishes.
Faience - similar to porcelain, but not so white and transparent. The shard is thicker, has a porous structure, is less durable, and allows moisture to pass through. Dishes, toilet bowls, washbasins, decorative tiles are made from it. Nephrite-Keramika is an enterprise that is the leader in the production of the latter on the Russian market. Product quality is ensured by high-tech processes, which are carried out on modern Italian and Spanish equipment
Semikarakorsk pottery
She received this name in honor of the city in the Rostov region. Two centuries ago there were many pottery workshops in Semikarakora. But by the seventies of the last century, only one remained, where unique faience is still being produced in a newly built workshop. Masters in a short time have created their own artistic style, manufacturing technology and a wide range of products. Semikarakorsk painting is distinguished by the uniqueness of bright plots, the harmony of colorful multicolors, which reflect the attitude of the authors and give a festive mood.
Features of Semikarakorsk ceramics
Art specialists worked on the artistic style of the products. Ornaments were developed by famous artists of our country. The plots are similar to Gzhel painting: a variety of floral patterns depicted on a large flower. Semikarakorsk ceramics – is also the steppe flora and fauna of the Don against the backdrop of snow-white faience, refined and exquisite landscapes and much moreother. To date, the formation of a separate style direction of the Semikarakorsky painting technique has been completed.
A distinctive feature is the use of manual labor in the process of painting products of original forms. Masters are real creators of ingenuity and poetry in the choice of decor. The main part of the ceramic craft is the manufacture of earthenware, which uses painting with gilding. It is applied to the product under a layer of glaze. Figurines of Cossack women dressed in national costumes and other souvenirs are especially popular: cars, sugar bowls with lidded houses, temple teapots and more.
Names of pottery
There is a wide variety of them. Some of them:
- Wall panels - with their help, an ordinary room becomes unique, one feels the stability and respectability of the owners of the house or office. Wall panels are the embodiment of any fantasies: fabulous and historical plots, folk motifs, abstract drawings.
- Inserts are small ceramic paintings. To write them, the master uses painting or relief.
- Volumetric ceramics are dishes (vases, pots, etc.). The fashion for this type of ceramics will never go away.
- Cache-pot for plants - the decorativeness of any home plant will increase many times over if the containers for them are made of ceramics.
Benefits of ceramic tableware
What is ceramics? In ancient times, people did not know such a word. Subsequently, theycalled clay products that kept the warmth of the master's hands. Pottery is endowed with healing properties, and all thanks to the natural qualities of clay and its ability to absorb solar energy.
For a long time, people have chosen clay jugs, which have the ability to regulate the temperature in a natural way, as a place to store food. Chilled milk in a jug will not heat up for a long time, and boiling water will not cool down. If cooked in such dishes, it will be soft and juicy.
Use in other areas
The material is used to protect weapons, aircraft and other armored vehicles. Glass and ceramics are widely used in the aviation industry.
It is used in medicine during surgical interventions for bone prosthetics, in orthopedics and other areas. The tiles of the domestic JSC Nephrite-Keramika are used by designers in the design of interiors and exteriors of premises.
