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THE ENDLESS CONSISTENCIES OF CLAY: FROM MUD TO PORCELAIN

For sculpting, clay comes in boxes containing the magical water-base dough sealed in plastic, ready to work. We love it, use it, misuse it, and some gets thrown away. But we could improve our skill in working with clay if we would only appreciate its ability to give us an endless variety of surfaces according to its various degrees of moisture content before firing, and how it is fired.
The clay from the box has an elasticity that serves to create the fresh expression of a model or maquette, as in this sketch of Canova, as a means to arrive at a finished work of art. The shavings and scraps from the same clay, when completely dry and water is added, become slip (or slurry). Slip is mainly used to join two pieces of clay, making a perfect bond while eliminating any trapped air that could cause cracking during firing. Moreover, different consistencies of slip can be used in modeling and building up: By adding crumbs of dried clay to the slip, we obtain a rough texture for different effects such as a gravel road; or in a smooth, whipped consistency, it can be painted on a bas-relief with brush strokes, creating wispy clouds; or in large quantity with the addition of 2 to 5 percent sea salt, it can be poured into negative stamps of plaster (piece molds) to make reproductions. Dry plaster absorbs the water content and when the desired thickness is obtained, the liquid slip is poured out, leaving the preferred walls of the vase or sculpture.
Once fired, the clay is called terracotta (cooked earth). If the piece is to be glazed or colored, it is done after a preliminary firing called bisque. The della Robbia family in the second half of the fifteenth century used tin glazes to embellish their terracotta reliefs and sculptures, making them more durable, as well. This kind of glazing was done in Persia probably in the ninth century, when tin and silicate of potash were added to the oxides of lead to form an opaque white coating representing an advanced development in the art of coloring terracotta, originating from the lead glazing invented in China. This white coating could then be painted with metallic oxides and then re-fired, vitrifying the glaze. Brilliant colors could be obtained in this manner.
For sculptors, the term "terracotta" represents one of the most economical ways of obtaining a finished work of art, painted, patinaed, and as durable as the Sumerian tablets - cuneiform script that dates from about 3000 b.c. However, the modern sculptor has to cope with the many travails of daily life, such as dealing with promotion, success, phone calls, e-mails, contracts, and lengthy committee-based approval times for proposed clay maquettes that may need modification. This is why many artists tend to use plastiline, an oil-based clay that needs little maintenance, since it does not dry out. Lost is that wonderful spectrum of consistencies that water-based clay offers and the reward of a maquette, or sculpture in terracotta, as a means and an end, in my point of view.

Giancarlo Biagi

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