readsfreenovel Chapter 309 Making Porcelain
Chapter 309 Making Porcelain
Since discovering the potter's wheel, Yue's great-uncle has practiced making pottery with it whenever he has time, and he can now make simple pottery with it.
Making porcelain also requires a potter's wheel. The pounded clay is placed on the potter's wheel, and Grandpa Yue slowly steps on the pedal, and the potter's wheel starts to turn.
His hands kept kneading and spreading the mud, stretching and pressing it in his hands until it was kneaded and smoothed. Grandpa Yue then dug a small hole in the mud, which slowly grew larger and became the shape of a bowl.
The potter's wheel slowly slowed down until it stopped. Grandpa Yue picked up the wire next to him and cut the bowl blank off the clay.
After the bowl blanks are dried and shaped, they need to be finished. The clay on the bottom needs to be removed, and any uneven areas need to be smoothed out. Bai Ling does all of this. The bottom of the bowls also needs to be marked. Bai Ling writes a number on the bottom of each bowl.
Once all fifteen bowl blanks were repaired, Bai Ling began glazing them.
In front of him was a ceramic basin, each containing a prepared glaze. Bai Ling pressed a bowl blank into the first basin until the bowl was almost completely submerged, with only a small part of the rim remaining untouched by the glaze. Bai Ling then let the bowl soak in the glaze for a while before taking it out.
After soaking in the glaze, the bowl blanks need to be dried in the sun before they can be fired in the kiln.
While Bai Ling was glazing the pottery, the Grand Elder watched intently. After Bai Ling had glazed all the bowls and was about to glaze the plates, the Grand Elder said from the side, "Ling, can I try?"
Bai Ling turned to look at the Grand Elder, whose eyes were eager and whose expression was eager to try. Bai Ling nodded and said, "Of course you can. Just be careful not to let the glaze cover the plate. It's okay to be a little slow."
The elder nodded: "Yes, I will be careful."
Bai Ling marked all the ceramic plates, with each mark corresponding to a specific glaze. Bai Ling didn't know what the porcelain would look like this time, but it should be better than the ceramic.
In the end, not only the elder, but everyone else also put glaze on the finished pottery blanks. Chen found it very interesting and soaked a pottery bowl in all three pottery basins. He wondered what kind of porcelain it would eventually become.
Bai Ling then wrote three numbers on the bottom of the bowl, representing the three ceramic basins, after the bowl had been soaked in the three ceramic basins.
These clay blanks need to be dried before they can be fired in the kiln.
*
The elder was very interested in the potter's wheel and various glazes that Bai Ling had made. Looking at the row of pottery blanks, he asked, "Ling, are all these pottery basins filled with different glazes?"
Bai Ling first shook her head and then nodded: "The glazes are almost the same, just the proportions are different. For example, they are all made of feldspar, quartz and iridescent stone. In the first pottery basin, there are five parts feldspar, two parts quartz, two parts iridescent stone, and one part pine needle ash. In the second pottery basin, there are three parts feldspar, three parts quartz, three parts iridescent stone, and one part ash. The third pottery basin is entirely made of feldspar, the fourth pottery basin is entirely made of quartz, and the fifth pottery basin is entirely made of iridescent stone."
"All the materials are feldspar, quartz, iridescent stone and pine needle ash, just in different proportions, some more and some less."
The elder thought for a moment, then asked, "If the proportions of these ingredients are different, with some in larger quantities and others in smaller quantities, will the resulting color be different after firing?"
This is not difficult to understand. The mud and water in the earthenware pots are all different colors, so the fired porcelain will naturally be different colors. Their central tribe also fires porcelain in this way. Each time, they grind different stones into powder, add water and mud, and then apply it to the surface of the clay blank to fire porcelain of different colors.
Bai Ling nodded and said, "The glaze color of porcelain is related to the glaze material and the firing temperature. Even if it is the same two glaze materials, the color will be different if the proportions are different. Also, the firing temperature will be different if it is too high or too low."
The elder seemed to have thought of something, and he smiled and said, "When I get back, I will have the people in the kiln in the tribe use your method to make glazes from different stones in different proportions, and then test them one by one to find the best glaze ratio."
"I never thought that the ash left over from burning firewood could be used to make glaze. When we get back, our tribe will experiment with it a few more times. Maybe we can find an even more beautiful glaze."
Bai Ling was slightly taken aback by the Grand Elder's words, then seemed to realize something and asked, "Grand Elder, are you going back?"
The elder nodded and said, "I plan to go back in a while. Ling, last year I invited you to visit our tribe, but you said you didn't have time. You promised to visit us this year. Do you have time this year?"
Bai Ling thought for a moment and said, "Elder, I have time this year, but I need to discuss with my family when to set off. The earliest I can visit your tribe is after I have raised silkworms once in spring."
The elder laughed and said, "Alright, Ling, we'll set off whenever you have time."
Speaking of his tribe, the elder's eyes softened: "Our tribe is much larger than the Gaoshu tribe, and the scenery and products are different. If you, Ling, were to visit us, you would be our most honored guest, and we would treat you with the most gracious hospitality."
Bai Ling also longed to visit the Central Tribe, the most powerful tribe on the Beastman Continent, where she might find many useful things.
*
Glazed pottery blanks must be air-dried in a cool place before they can be fired in the kiln. During this time, the kiln will not be idle, as it will be used to fire other pottery.
This time, we're firing earthenware jars, which will take a full day and night.
As darkness fell completely, the wind began to blow across the open fields. The temperature dropped sharply at night. In the past, Bai Ling and her father, Cang, would fire the kiln at night, while Yue's grandfather would fire it with Chen during the day, and Bai Ling and her father would go back to rest.
Bai Ling was wrapped in three layers of animal hides and wore gloves. Together with Yue, they neatly stacked the charcoal around the kiln to make it easier to start the fire.
Grandpa Yue, holding a torch, said, "Alright, you two can go back now. Cang and I can watch over things here."
Bai Ling: "Grandpa, we'll go back later. You and Father go and get some sleep. We'll watch the kiln."
Grandpa Yue waved his hand; "It's alright, Cang and I will take turns keeping watch for the first half of the night and the second half, the time will pass in no time. You and Yue are going out tomorrow, so you don't need to worry about this place."
Cang also said, "Weren't you going to find fruit trees? You don't need to worry about this place. Go back and rest. Leave things here to us."
Despite what Cang and Yue's grandfather said, Bai Ling and Yue stayed there until very late, and moved all the charcoal they needed for the night to the kiln before heading back under the cover of night.