Which fibers to use in Paper Clay? скачать в хорошем качестве

Which fibers to use in Paper Clay?

Selecting fibers for paper clay: #2 By Jerry Bennett It is essential to be safe with tools and materials: Safety First: Use caution when using materials and tools in your studio. The mixers used in these procedures spin at high speed. Keep safe, and don't put your hands in buckets with tools that could hurt you. Follow directions supplied with your tools, read all operation manuals, and follow their advice. When mixing dry material, ls wear a quality dust mask. When firing paper clay in a k, ensure adequate ventilation to prevent breathing kiln emissions. For your safety, read all safety publications concerning materials you are using. Do not use moldy or black c; discard it. Test these techniques and materials before doing a large amount of work. Your safety is essential, and it calls your attention! Fibers: Cellulose plant fibers are a hollow tube-like structure that is an essential part of all plants that move water and nutrients for the plant. It has a fantastic ability to siphon moisture into itself, acting like a sponge. Different plants give a variety of fibers, the length and size of which depend on their use by the plant. An easy source of fiber can be found in any manufactured paper. This can be torn into shreds and soaked in hot water. Using a drill fitted with a mixing blade, you can break down the fibers to mix evenly in the clay. Shorter fibers, which form the basis of tissue, blotting paper, and newsprint, are excellent. All these break down easily in hot water. Cotton and linen papers used by artists are best as they have a marked absence of lignin, a complex polymer associated with cellulose. Being a cell wall stiffener, lignin is water resistant and can affect the water needed to soak the paper. Lignin is a food source for mold and contributes to spoiling in fiber clay. Cardboard is best avoided as it contains glue. Also, shiny papers (advertisements) that contain kaolin will not break down easily in water. Under magnification, clay particles are tiny compared with cellulose fibers. When clay slip and paper pulp are mixed, the clay particles are easily mixed into and adhere to the surface of the fibers. The resulting complex network of fiber and clay gives the mixture of essential and unusual working characteristics that benefit ceramics. Why make your fibers? The trend today in ceramics is to purchase pre-made materials for your work. This limits your control over your materials and limits your options for your job. In most cases, including this one, the additional work is worth the effort. I teach at a local community art center where the students purchase plastic paper clay in bags. They get frustrated with the poor quality of the clay, the rotting problem, and the minimal choice of clay. It's hard for me to keep them interested in the material with this purchased ready-made paper clay. But, once I teach them how to make their own, using the clay they want, they see the benefit and continue to make their own paper clay. There are some exceptions to this rule of making your own clay. Some areas of the USA have excellent pre-made paper clays. One of the founding people of paper clay, Rosette Gault, designed a fiber clay called "P'Clay®," sold in Washington state and is excellent. Shop locally and determine if your local clay supplier has a quality product. It is essential to understand that cellulose-based fibers kept in a wet state will soon begin to rot. You can process fibers in water, but once you are finished, you should dry the fibers for long-term storage. Cellulose-based fibers only. It would be best if you had consistency and enough fibers to repeat the process. This would exclude fibers such as nylon, fiberglass, and dryer lint. Some general rules for selecting fibers to add to clay: 1. Select fibers based on the type of clay you are going to use. The more refined the material, with earthenware being the least refined to porcelain the most refined, fibers need to be shorter and smaller the more refined the clay. For example, if I use earthenware and make a sculptural form, I could combine paper and Jute in a 50/50 mix. Porcelain could take three ounces of paper to one or two ounces of cotton per 25 lbs. of porcelain. 2. Use cellulose-based fibers in clay. Avoid toilet tissue because of additives to the paper. Don't use protein-based fibers because they will rot before you can use the clay. Obtain enough fiber so you can be consistent with your work. This leaves out dryer lint because you don't know what is in it and can't get enough of it. 3. Papermaking suppliers are a good source of fibers for clay. 4. Experiment with fibers and find the mix that works for you. 5. In most cases, fiber clay will contain some paper. You might want to experiment with this and find the proportion that matches the clay you use and the work produced. Don't store wet fibers. Dry them out to preserve them.