Dan's World Portfolio Pages

1 Intro
2Starting out
3 You and me together again at last
4Product Design
5Rubber mold
6 Be a Sculptor
7 Marbleizing
8 Getting Ahead
9Paint techniques
10 Foam carving

Dan's World      The world of specialized ceramics             pg 7   

"The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work."

- Emile Zola (1840-1902)

I have had the privilege of working with some very talented people who produce ceramics with a special flair. 
  The marbleizing of ceramics is a little known process that requires a certain degree of finesse to accomplish.

  Howey and Sandy Summy did the marbelizing on Penn State's Nittany Lion figurine. It is one such item which we produced in a marbleized finish. To do this project I made reference drawings  and took photos on site at Penn State's Nittany Lion Shrine. I then made a  clay sculpture. Next plaster  molds were made and we produced several hundred of these 10 inch long figurines for Penn State's campus stores.

 Many people have asked, "how is this amazing finish achieved?"
 Well here's the tell all story demonstrated by the folks who do it.
 

Marbelizing Ceramics

There are quite a few steps in  achieving  this type of finish.  We have boiled  it down to its essence.  It all starts with the preparation of the clay slip. Coloring is mixed in with the clay slip.  Then it is poured into the plaster mold.  A great deal of the success of this technique depends on how you pour the slip into the mold. This isn't something that you can describe. You just have to develop a feel for it over time. 
  After a sufficient amount of time the excess clay slip is emptied out of the mold. Some of the slip remains in the mold as a thin shell on the inner walls of the mold.  The mold is put aside for  a period of time while this thin shell of clay dries and hardens.  When the clay reaches the leather hard stage it is taken out of the mold. The clay form is now called greenware. 
  The actual color of the greenware is gray brown. The greenware piece in the photo is one of several hundred we did for the Mardi Gras Festival in New Orleans.   The greenware is dried and the seam lines are scraped down and smoothed with special tools.  The marbling effect does not become visible until the piece is fired.  There is no way to know  what the marbling will look like until after it comes out of the kiln. After  firing, the greenware piece is called bisque.
  The bisque piece is painted with clear glaze and placed back in the kiln and fired again. After the final firing the beauty of the marbling becomes visible.  The piece is then inspected and packed for shipment.

 

 

  Here is the drawing we received from the client depicting the King's Float in the Mardi Gras parade. It was  used as a reference to make  a clay sculpture.  Molds were made from the clay sculpture.   
   Some of the detail would have been to fragile to reproduce in a ceramic piece but we did achieve the shape and look of the King's Float in a miniature size.  The client was quite pleased with the results.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the finished piece with the marbled look. 
Many thanks to Howey and Sandy at Valley Greenware for sharing with us these photos and the majic of marblizing ceramic figurines.     

This is the finished piece with the
marbled look

                          Next pg 8

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Dan Kijak   4308 Shankweiler Rd. Orefield PA 18069

610-391-9277