CERAMICS SOUTHERN AFRICA
05
WORKING WITH PORCELAIN When in the late stage of leather-hard it tends to break very easily, support on as many spots as possible when working to distribute pressure. •Wets very quickly, small changes in the content of water can produce large changes in workability carefully control water use depending on what you are doing. •Practice and experiment –see which techniques and tools produce which effects when. •Keep extreme whiteness in mind –keep a clean work space. •If adding other materials make testers as porcelain reacts differently to other clays. •Decide between the importance of shapes and translucence, SA porcelain tends to slump at higher temps. •Prepare for high volume of shrinkage (sometimes erratic due to water content).