One of the types of folk craft is the creation of ceramic products. Read about what ceramics are, what types they are divided into, what they produce, read the article.
General information
What is ceramics? These are clay products that have undergone firing. Thousands of years have passed before people could formulate this brief definition. A man became interested in making clay products when he stopped leading a nomadic lifestyle and began to live sedentary. The development of crafts was promoted by attachment to a permanent 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 people did not divide it into species. In his understanding, so-called clay products mixed with lime, quartz or feldspar were called so. The master processed all this into a mass of one consistency, formed the product manually, and subsequently on the potter’s wheel, and burned it.
What is called ceramics?
Translated from Greek, it is "clay." What is ceramics? In fact, it is a mixture of natural materials such as clay, sand, zircon and others. The man began to engage in the craft of manufacturing ceramic products in the form familiar to us since he learned the skill of melting organic particles at high temperatures - up to 2500 degrees.
Clay acquires the qualities of ceramics on fire. Products for the production of which thin white clay was used are called porcelain. White clay combined with quartz sand is faience. Products from red clay - pottery.
Types of ceramics
The art of ceramics since ancient times is a folk craft. 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, coating composition, 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 a variety of shades of glaze, contributed to the production of real works of art. Different eras left their characteristic features on these items. Currently, the world of ceramics has become more diverse and vibrant. Interest in artistry has persisted.
Today, ceramics are widely used in the interior of the interior space and the external facade of buildings. Decorative lattices and partitions, fireplaces, ornamental panels, vases, candlesticks, bowls, vessels are made of it. The world of ceramics is replete with special patterns, products for decoration. Ceramics are of the following types:
- Terracotta - from Italian it is translated as “burnt earth”. The raw material for the manufacture is colored clay of a porous structure. Products are not glazed. It is used for domestic, construction needs and for artistic purposes. Terracotta goes to the manufacture of dishes, sculptures, tiles, tiles, tiles, which is currently being manufactured by Jade-Ceramics - leading Russian manufacturer.
- Pottery ceramics - products need additional processing. Before firing, their walls are smoothed (polished) so that no liquid passes through them. This is done until a 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 dipped in water with flour. This is "steaming" or "welding." The surface is covered with beautiful tan marks and does not allow water to pass through. Pottery is used to make household items.
- Majolica is a product made of pottery clay with a colored glaze coating. This technique is used for the manufacture of decorative panels, tiles, platbands, sculptures, dishes and other products.
- Porcelain - the hallmarks are white, transparency and thin walls. It has the ability not to leak fluid. Depending on the effects of high temperatures, porcelain is soft and hard. The first is used for the production of decorative items, and the second - for dishes.
- Earthenware - similar to porcelain, but not so white and transparent. The shard is thicker, porous, less durable, permeable to moisture. Dishes, toilet bowls, washbasins, and decorative tiles are made from it. Jade Ceramics - an enterprise that is a leader in the production of the latter in the Russian market. Product quality is ensured by high-tech processes that are carried out on modern Italian and Spanish equipment.
Semikarakorsk ceramics
This name she received in honor of a city in the Rostov region. Two centuries ago, there were many pottery workshops in Semikarakora. But by the seventies of the last century, there was only one left, where unique faience is still being produced in the newly built workshop. Masters in a short time created their own artistic style, manufacturing technology and a wide range of products. Semikarakorsk painting It is distinguished by the uniqueness of vivid plots, the harmony of colorful multicolor, which reflect the authors' worldview and give a festive mood.
Features of Semikarakor ceramics
Artistic experts worked on the artistic style of the products. Ornaments were designed by famous artists of our country. The plots are similar to Gzhel painting: a variety of floral patterns depicted on a large-sized flower. Semikarakorsk ceramics is also the steppe flora and fauna of the Don against the backdrop of snow-white faience, sophisticated and refined landscapes and much more. Today, the formation of a separate style of Semikarakor 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 dishes, which use gilded painting. It is applied to the product under a layer of glaze. Figurines of female Cossacks dressed in national costumes and other souvenirs are especially popular: cars, sugar bowls with lid houses, teapots, temples and more.
Names of ceramic products
There is a wide variety of them. Some of them:
- Wall panels - with their help, the usual room becomes unique, the stability and respectability of the owners of the house or office is felt. Wall panels are the embodiment of any fantasy: fairy tale and historical plots, folk motifs, abstract drawings.
- The inserts are small ceramic paintings. To write them, the master uses painting or relief.
- Volumetric ceramics are utensils (vases, pots, etc.). Fashion for this type of ceramics will never pass.
- Cache-pot for plants - the decorativeness of any home plant will increase many times if the containers for them are made of ceramics.
The use of ceramic dishes
What is ceramics? In ancient times, people did not know such a word. Subsequently, they called them clay products that kept the warmth of the craftsman’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 chose clay jugs with the ability to regulate temperature in a natural way as a place of food storage. Chilled milk in a jug will not heat up for a long time, and boiling water will not cool. If you cook the dish in such dishes, it will be soft and juicy.
Other applications
The material is used to protect weapons, aircraft and other armored vehicles. Widely used in the aviation industry are glass and ceramics.
It is used in medicine during surgical interventions for prosthetics, in orthopedics and other areas. Tiles of domestic JSC "Jade-Ceramics" is used by designers in the design of interiors and exteriors.