Production process

  1. Clay making ：This is a process before porcelain is made. Craftsmen collect porcelain stones from the mining area, first break them into egg-sized blocks with a hammer, then use a water mill to beat them into powder, wash them, float off the scum, sift them out with a horsetail sieve, and after settling, use a fine silk bag to make mud blocks that are shaped like bricks after water seepage and settling. Then use water to mix the mud blocks, remove the slag, rub them with both hands, or step on them with your feet to squeeze out the air in the mud and make the water content in the mud uniform. When you can see the cross section of the mud after cutting it with a knife, it means that the air has been basically eliminated.
  2. Wheel throwing：Wheel throwing is the first step in the process of forming. The prepared clay is placed on the center of the turntable of the potter's wheel, and a blank with a certain shape and size is drawn out by bending, stretching, contracting and releasing the hands. Wheel throwing is a traditional method of producing ceramics in my country. Wheel throwing must first be familiar with the shrinkage rate of the clay, and in the process, attention must be paid to the shrinkage rate and shape. When encountering larger-sized products, segmented drawing is required, so it is a great test of the skill level of the wheel throwing master.
  3. Printing Blank：It is a very ancient handmade porcelain making technique. In ancient times, bamboo or wood were used as molds. The shape of the mold is cut according to the arc of the inner shape of the blank. When operating, the semi-dried blank is covered on the mold, the outer wall of the blank is evenly pressed, and then demolding is done.
  4. Sharp Blank：First, place the semi-dry blank on the sharp barrel of the windlass, turn the wheel, and use a knife to cut it to make the blank of appropriate thickness, smooth inside and outside, and coherent and consistent, which ultimately determines the shape of the object. To cut the blank, one must be familiar with the properties of the clay, the straight and curved changes in the shape of the object, the shrinkage of each part during firing, and also understand the types of grinding and tools.
  5. Drying：Drying the dough is one of the natural drying procedures. The wet dough after processing and shaping is placed on the dough board and then put on the open-air dough rack for drying.
  6. Engraving：On the surface of the dried or semi-dried ceramic body, various patterns/decorations of different depths and areas are carved with bamboo, bone or iron tools. These include various craft techniques such as carving, engraving, scratching, hollowing, combing, combing, etc.
  7. Glazing：On the formed ceramic body, according to the different shapes and thickness of the body, different methods of glazing are used, such as dipping glaze, swinging glaze, pouring glaze, brushing glaze, blowing glaze, spraying glaze, and wheel glaze. Ordinary round vessels are glazed by dipping or swinging glaze. Carved vessels or large round vessels are glazed by blowing glaze.
  8. Kiln：First, put the ceramic products into the sagger, which is a container for firing ceramic products. It is made of refractory materials. The ceramic blanks are in direct contact with the kiln fire to avoid contamination. The kiln firing process takes about a day and night, and the temperature is about 1300 degrees. First, build the kiln door, light the kiln, and use pine wood as fuel. The workers will be instructed by the technicians, and the fire will be measured to understand the changes in kiln temperature and decide when to stop firing.
  9. Painting：Paint patterns and fill colors on the glaze surface of the fired porcelain, and then put it into the furnace to fire at a low temperature.
    Overglaze colors such as five colors and pastels are painted on the glaze surface of the fired porcelain, and then put into the red furnace to fire at a low temperature, the temperature is about 700-800 degrees.
    Painting on the body before firing, such as blue and white, underglaze red, is called underglaze color, which is characterized by the color under the high temperature glaze and never fades.
    The painting of porcelain is different from general painting. Because the pigment color seen by the painter when applying glaze and painting on the body will change greatly after high-temperature firing and baking. The dull and unremarkable semi-finished products will present brilliant colors after being fired in the furnace.