CHINA CERAMIC NET
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TECHNICAL STATEMENT   ABOUT TECHNIQUE AND TECHNOLOGY

 “In ceramic art ,techniques and technology is an important part of the artistic process .The broader the technological basis is ,the more facilities of artistic expression are given to the artist .” These sentences are part of a statement I've made when I was a young teacher .Confining the above statement ,I continued :″The clever management of sophisticated chemistry and of chances of kiln and fire ,never can substitute the lack of imagination .”Looking back on many years of my own artistic activities ,I have to state that I was not very much interested in making use of intricate technical means .

Neither was I very fond of using glazes ,nor did I like to depend on the incidents of fume and fire .I prefer to bring my work to an end at once ,and not to interrupt the creative process ,waiting until the piece is ready for glazing .I used to work in the past accordingly to this principle.

I treated  the surface of my relief of the early years by scratching and texturing in such a lively manner ,that final treatment with soluble metal compounds, like iron-,cobalt- ,nickel- chloride and others ,or very thin wash of coloring metal oxides caused only an effect of emphasizing the texture of surfaces .

The relief's were made of whitish clay ,fired to 1040℃or 1100℃ in oxidation .The "Flower _shaped vessels "of the following period I treated in a similar way .The "petals", by means of a wire -relief cut ,later on slightly cambered ,have been predried for a short while in order to prevent destroying the relief during the following procedure of shaping the calyx or copula .After another short drying _time (for stiffening ),the pre _modeled foot or stem has been attached and by fluting or incising assimilated to the calyx .After bisque _firing ,the whole was washed over with ochre or underglazecolor ,superficially sponged out and than thinly coated with a Barium -mat glaze and fired to 1300℃ in oxidation or reduction .The material was a readymade porcelain _body containing 20％of China clay _grog (0.4mm ).

In order to avoid deformation or collapsing during glostfiring every piece has been supported by about five three _cornered supports having sharp ridges at the upper end .These supports consisted of same body as the works to be fired and have been specially made for each piece .

About my “brick sculptures “,there is ,from the technical point of view ,not much to be reported .A great part of them consists of firebricks that I've got from an old brick _kiln ,some of them curious ,others are partly glazed ,I have got them from an old potters _kiln .Some bricks I've washed over with a very thin slip in order to obtain a greater variety of shades of color ,I joined the bricks ,almost without alteration ,using a mortar that consisted of synthetic resin ,grog or sand and metal oxide .

Later ,when I run out of old firebricks ,I used ordinary bricks that I found in the ruins of a three hundred years ′old farmhouse ,that collapsed during a heavy rain .