Batik is not the only motive that can be seen on a piece of cloth

Batik is not the only motive that can be seen on a piece of cloth. Batik decoration
already have a large place in their utilization, including as a decorative ornament on the
cups, plates, and other art objects made of ceramics. The production techniques used to
make batik ceramics is by way of the pinch, coil or slab. After completion of the process,
entering the stage of drying and coloring stage. Selection of colors for ceramic products in
Indonesia adapted to natural colors, so the shape of products such as color cup and color
plates always use natural color. The motive was wearing a somewhat contrasting color so
that the object can be a beautiful design. Indonesian pot are widely used flowers, plants, animals
and human figures, more interesting is the puppet and batik decoration. Indonesian pottery come
in many attractive shapes and appealing colors that may depict animal, object, etc. as a
representational decoration. The representation can come in the form of figurative products and
non-figurative products (abstract forms and shapes)
Indonesian culture has been shaped by a very long interaction between original indigenous
customs and multiple influences from all corners of the world. The result is a complex cultural
mixture, which is very different from the original. Indonesian art forms express this cultural mix. The creativity and innovativeness of
Indonesian people have created Borobudur, one of the masterpieces produced by Indonesian exotic cultural mix. Indonesian
pottery with attractive ethnic touches is well positioned to supply the global market needs for ceramic gifts and decorative articles.
Indonesian products offer features with creative ideas for interiors and home improvement. A great variety of Indonesian pottery
products will enhance the home ambiance and support the aura of peace and relaxation in and around the garden.
Pinch Pot
Pinch pots, made from balls of clay into which fingers or thumbs are inserted to make the
opening, may have been the first pottery. Coil pots, formed from long coils of clay that are
blended together, were not far behind. These first pots were fired at low temperatures and
were thus fragile and porous.
Coil Pot
Coil pots, the first you do are making a base. Place a ball of clay on the middle of the
hand wheel. Flatten it out to a thickness of about 1.5cm by patting it flat with the base of
the thumb. Grip the other piece of clay between your two hands and slowly squeezes
lengthen into a thin, long shape. Roll the coil of clay backwards and forwards on the
board, using only your fingers. (Do not use your palm!) Then hold one end of the coil with
one hand, and use your other hand to press down the other end of the coil onto the top
edge of the clay base. Press the coil down onto the clay base, between your forefinger
and thumb, and spin the wheel with same motion, continue this action until you make a
circle. (Push the inside down with the thumb pushes the outside up with the fingers.)
Repeat this process, and form another coil circle on top of the circle. Repeat this 4 or 5 times, smoothing the different layers
together as you go along.
Thickness
The decision of how thick to leave the bottom of a pot depends on whether or
not you plan to trim away any clay from the bottom. Until you develop an
accurate sensitivity to bottom thickness, it is worthwhile to check it at this
point. When you widen the bottom you are pulling clay away from what
remains as the bottom of the pot, whereas during subsequent lifting you will
be compressing the walls of the vessel from both sides. If the bottom remains uncompressed, it will shrink more than the walls, and
the “s” shaped cracks may form during drying or firing. To avoid this, apply mild fingertip pressure against the spinning bottom,
moving from the center to the right edge and back again several times. This is also the ideal time to level any irregularities in the
bottom.
Trimming technique
To finish the pot by removing excess clay on the lower part that could not be accessed while
throwing. Give the pot walls and bottom an even consistent thickness throughout. Give the pot a foot
for stability and/or function. Give the pot aesthetic beauty and "lift". Create a stopping or break point
for glaze to prevent run off onto the kiln shelf.
Steps of trimming
Pot should be leather hard. Inspect the inside shape of the bowl. Remember how it is shaped. Run your finger down the sidewall of
the pot to determine where the clay begins to get thick. Remember the wall's thickness let's assume 1/4" for this example. This is
the goal for the thickness to which you will trim the rest of the pot. It is best to hold the trimming tools NOT like a pencil but under
the palm of your right hand for strength and stability. Hold fingers close to trimming tool tip for good leverage and to avoid
chattering. If trimming tool chatters, hold tighter and closer to tip. Try to always keep a finger from your left hand on the pot and, just
as in throwing, your hands should always be touching. Tool position is at 3 o'clock on the wheel. Start by removing rough clay on
the edge that might be in the way. It is important to burnish at the end of trimming if the clay has grog in it. You will notice pits and
scratches caused by the grog and if not smoothed there will be a negative effect in the glazing later. Spray the pot lightly with water,
if it is too dry and burnishing is difficult. Using a wood tool or a rib smooth / burnish the clay surface.
Slip and score
Turn on the wheel while with a finger or a pintool, measure how far off center the pot is. Adjust
the pot by pushing it with your fingers, placing them at the middle of the mark you made,
toward the center of the wheel. Continue this action until the pot touches your finger or pintool
360 degrees as it turns around. Then used the little knife to cut the excess clay. Then score
and slip refers to a method of joining two pieces of clay together. First, score the clay, which
means that you make scratches in the surfaces that will be sticking together. Then you slip it,
which you wet, the surface with some slip, using it like glue. Next, you press the two pieces
together. It is very important to always score and slip clay that is leather hard. If you do not, the pieces will likely pop apart when
they are fired
Wedging
After selecting clay, you must wedge (knead) it to remove air bubbles and insure uniform
consistency. A clay body that has been mixed properly and because a vacuum removes
most of the air, it does not usually need as much wedging for its first use.
Spiral Wedging
Push a cone of clay away from your body on a horizontal surface with the heels of
your hands (the left hand does most of the work). This pressure creates a thick slab of
clay. Partially roll this slab of clay back onto the cone with a twisting motion of your
hands. Repeat the process. With each pushing motion, the tip and lower surface of the
cone are partially squeezed off, leaving the form with less mass. When the rolling
action takes place, new mass is added to the form.
Process Journal
How I improved my pot is basically the thickness of my pot. One of the hardest
things for potters still learning their skills understands how thick the walls of the
pots are around the bottom area. It’s hard to know what I am looking at, and at this
stage my fingers often don’t properly interpret the information that they are getting
from the clay. I don’t know how good or poorly I’ve done in getting all the excess
clay out until I pick the pot up off the wheel or cut it in half. Don’t be afraid to chop
up a few pots if it can be the incentive required to make the necessary
improvements.
One thing I notice is the visual comparison between the inside diameter and the
outside diameter of the cylinder. The shapes should fit together in the same way.
Usually what I find in a poorly thinned pot is that the cylinder will have straight
vertical walls on its exterior but that on the interior the walls taper to a narrower
shape at the bottom. Until I learn to judge the thickness with my fingers I simply
can’t trust my hands to give that information. And if I can’t trust my hands at this
point, sometimes I need to trust my eyes. If there is a difference in the thickness of
the wall often I will be able to assess this simply by comparing the inside and the
outside volumes. A thick bottom pot will have a far lesser volume at the bottom
than it should, and my eyes can often see that.
Work cited
"Basic Throwing." Basic Throwing. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.
"Ceramic Glossary." Ceramic Glossary. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.
"Daerah Penghasil Keramik Yang Terkenal." Daerah Penghasil Keramik Yang Terkenal. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.
"Majalah Griya Asri." Majalah Griya Asri. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.
"Pottery." How Pottery Is Made. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.
"Trimming / Turning a Thrown Pot Lesson Tutorial on How to Trim a Pot." Lakeside Pottery. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.
"Uniquely Individual." Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions (2013): 2320. Uniquely Beautiful. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.