- Clay washing
- Clay stacking
- Wheel throwing
- Molding
- Trimming
- Drying
- Painting
- Glazing
- Firing
- Decoration
Clay washing: Kaolin is the best raw material for firing porcelain. For thousands of years, countless fine ceramics have evolved from this humble clay. The first step in porcelain making is clay washing, which involves processing the clay into a usable form.
Clay stacking: The washed clay cannot be used immediately. It must be divided and stacked to squeeze out the air trapped inside. If air bubbles remain, they may burst during firing, ruining all previous efforts.
Wheel throwing: The stacked clay is placed on a large wheel. By rotating the wheel and using hands and throwing tools, the clay is shaped into the desired form.
Molding: The thrown clay form is only a rough shape. Different molds are selected according to the intended design to press the clay into various shapes.
Trimming: The freshly molded blank is uneven in thickness. The trimming process is used to scrape and shape the blank to make it uniform and symmetrical. Trimming can be done either wet or dry.
Drying: The formed blanks are placed on wooden racks to air dry.
Painting: Painting on the blank is a major feature of ceramic art. There are various methods of painting, including freehand brushwork and tracing on pre-applied paper. Regardless of the technique, painting is the highlight of the ceramic-making process.
Glazing: The painted ceramic blank appears rough and dull, but after glazing, it becomes completely different—smooth and bright. Different glazing techniques yield entirely different effects. Common glazing methods include dipping, pouring, slushing, spraying, and brushing.
Firing: For millennia, kiln fires have burned incessantly. The meticulously crafted ceramic blanks, after undergoing dozens of processes, are subjected to firing at temperatures of thousands of degrees in the kiln. It is akin to an ugly duckling transforming into a beautiful swan. Modern kilns include gas kilns, electric kilns, and others.
Decoration: Overglaze decoration techniques, such as wucai (five-color) and fencai (famille rose), involve painting patterns and filling colors on the glazed surface of already fired porcelain. The pieces are then fired again in a low-temperature kiln at around 700–800 degrees Celsius.
