What is Clay and Why it is Used by Many Artists
Clay is the type of material that is being used to create ceramics and pottery. When the erosive forces of the rain, the wind, cold and heat have disintegrated a feldspathic rock added by the movement of the ice in the ice age and the organic acids that made contact with the said rock have produces clay particles that are now being used by clay artists of today. Clays are mostly made of silica, alumina, and water that are added to the other types of materials that help clay to be molded properly. Gaia is one of the many products of clay molded and can be used as home dĂŠcor by many homeowners.
The characteristics of clay are: • Plasticity – this term is referring to the capability of the clay to take and hold the form that it is molded into. One cannot worry about clays cracking or broken when being mold as elasticity is one of its many characteristics. This is one of the reasons why clay is the chosen material for clay artists. • Leather-hard when dried – another best thing about clays is that it can be as hard as a bone when dried. Clays that has been exposed to the heat and dried out are called greenware.
There are types of clays that are different from the other clays that are dug out from the ground. However, men today have been able to create types of clay that are similar to the clays that are found in the ground. These clays are usually called clay bodies that are being used and combined to the clays that make it elastic and can be mold accordingly. Here are the most use clay bodies: • Earthenware – this are clays that have a wide range of colors, it is usually plastic and can be easily matured when at low temperatures. However, it remains permeable. • Stoneware – it has various colors and is usually plastic; it hardens at high temperatures which make it ideal to be used as flower pots.
Porcelain – it is colored white and are non-plastic, this type of clay usually are expensive to be sold and are used to create high priced home décor. It needs to be baked and cooked at high temperature. • Raku clay – is the type of clay body that is formulated to be able to withstand shock that is caused by extreme and abrupt changes of the temperature.
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