The first production stage in this mud art, where clay, kaolin, quartz, k-feldspar, calcite, dolomite and similar components are used as raw materials, is the dough preparation section. After that; The production is finalized by passing through the biscuit firing, glazing and glazed firing stages respectively.
Although it is a branch of art, ceramics/porcelain, as a set of disciplines based on scientific and technical knowledge with its production, drying, painting and firing processes, is the perfect meeting of nature and science through art.
Production Process
The clay, which has passed the first step of shaping the dough, is dried in a sunny environment until the moisture on it is gone. The second step is the process of putting it in the first oven, which we call biscuit firing, and the clay fired in an environment of approximately 1,000 degrees reaches a certain strength. From this stage on, the shape of the clay has been finalized and it will no longer be possible to add water and reshape it.
Third step; It is the glazing stage, that is, the painting stage. Standard or artistic, transparent or colored glazes can be used here, depending on your purpose. The glaze (paint) you prefer is a very important and technical stage as it will create the colors of the final product that emerges after the second firing process.
The fourth and last step; It is the second firing stage that we call glazed firing. This time, the products that enter the oven at over 1,000 degrees are brought out with vibrant colors. And now the products are ready, you can use them with pleasure.
Printing Methods
It is possible to name the methods used in the glazing process (3rd step in the production phase) as printing, decorating or marking methods. Products whose biscuit firing has been completed using a wide variety of methods such as digital printing, brush painting, sandblasting, spray painting, and screen printing can be made ready for glazed firing.
The most notable method is the decal, or screen printing, method, with its wide range of usage, enabling mass production and low cost. In this technique, which we call stickers, porcelain paints are printed on special papers using the silk screen printing method, and these stickers are mounted and applied on the porcelain product. You can examine it in detail in this article.
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