Carving Clay

Carving in clay isn’t as difficult as it sounds, it’s really easy to get a good result with minimum tools and simple skills.

If you took part in the last AJE Theme Challenge blog hop, you will have seen my Egyptian eye cabs. Today, I’d like to share how I made them.

Eye of Horus Ceramic Cabochon

Firstly, you will need an image. I drew they eye using images of artefacts from the internet. When choosing an image, pick something that can be turned in to a simple line drawing. 

Initial Sketch

Trace the design in pencil on to baking paper.

Tracing the image

If your image has a left and a right side that’s different, flip over your tracing and draw round the lines again in felt tip pen. Flipping the image will transfer it the right way round in the next step. I pinched a pen from the kids art box, it’s water based washable. You might need to test different felt tips to see what works for you.

Retracing on the reverse in felt tip

Next take some clay rolled out to the thickness you want your finished piece to be. I like to use porcelain for carving as it’s smooth, firm, and holds a lot of detail. 

Prepared clay

Put the tracing felt tip side down on the clay and give it a good rub with you finger tip.

Transferring the image

When you lift the paper, your design should be transferred on to the clay.

Magic!

Cut the excess clay from around the edges.

Taking shape

And then with a sharp knife, cut into the lines of the drawing. You don’t want to go all the way through, just a couple of mm.

Scoring the design

To start sculpting, decide which areas you want raised, and which you want in relief. Use a flat ended tool to gently press up to the line. Depending on your design, you may want to press on either side, or just one.

Carving the relief

When you’ve done this along each line, take a paintbrush and smooth over the design until you have a nice finish.

Tidying up

Ready for bisque firing

Once bisque fired, the design was painted with underglazes and a clear top coat before going in for a final firing.

The finished cabs

Folklore Friday - faience of Egyptian amulets

Image: egyptological.com

Welcome to the third, and final installment in the Ancient Egyptian amulet series. Today: the material faience. - prized for its intense blues and versatile for its inexpensive, even humble origins... 

I think my interest in faience is twofold. I love clay, and the alchemy of firing and glazing. I am continually inspired by Art History. And that color! I could dive in and get lost. It really resonates with me... 

To the right is William. Have you "Met" him? (Art history humor! Forgive me...) He is a famous piece in the Metropolitan's Egyptian collection. He has his own page in the shop!  How he became a celebrity I do not know - but he IS made of faience... 

The Egyptian word for faience is "tjehnet" meaning "shining, dazzling". Archaeological evidence dates the use of faience to as early as 3500 BCE. It was developed as a substitute for lapis lazuli and was used for beads, amulets, statuettes, bowls... 

Vessels, a shabti figure*, and a beaded netted collar. 

Comprised of finely ground quartz, lime, copper oxide, water, and a binder/gum arabic - this was a recipe of common ingredients, easily sourced in the area. The materials are mixed with water to form a paste, them molded or modeled and fired when dry. The paste is thixotropic - and hard to work with as it is much less plastic and malleable than clay. The interesting thing about this material ... it is self glazing!  The term is "efflorescence of glazing" - glaze materials ( water soluble alkali salts) are mixed with quartz. As the water evaporates, the salts migrate to the surface, recrystallizing on the surface. When fired= glaze. 

Knowing that - take a look at the detail in these amulets of Egyptian deities: 

In my research recently I have found recipes and may attempt mixing up a batch of Egyptian paste in the fall when I return to the Ceramics studio /classroom on my regular schedule. In the past I have used "Egyptian Paste" from art suppliers like Dick Blick. (At the writing of this article, I could not find this prepared version for sale. Recipes for making  from scratch are readily available with a Google search.)

 Its like trying to sculpt peanut butter - the consistency is so gooey! As per the ancient methods - I found bisqued ceramic molds the most user friendly: they are porous, and absorb moisture quickly, allowing the molded paste to release, and drop out easily.

The challenge is patience. The paste is best left alone... as the crystals form on the surface as the piece dries. Sometimes patience is tough... Shown here are a few samples done when researching this material.

I love the colors and the history of the materials. For all its quirks - I do think I am inspired to give it another go!

Thanks for following this exploration! I would love to hear what you think... 

Until next time - 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

*The ushabti was a funerary figurine used in Ancient Egypt. Ushabtis were placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as substitutes for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife. They were used from the Middle Kingdom (around 1900 BC) until the end of the Ptolemaic Period nearly 2000 years later.

References: 

Faience research article by G. Mackenzie

Blog about experiments with Egyptian paste. 

Folklore Friday: Have a heart ( Ancient Egyptian amulets Part2)

Welcome back! Last time I talked about Ancient Egyptian amulets in general - and some of the iconic symbols that many if you had previously seen. This week I wanted to delve a little deeper into a few of the more obscure, yet quintessentially Egyptian motifs. ( It has been hard for me to decide what to include, as this topic enchants me. I thank you for your attention and perseverance!) 

The Tyet knot, also called the "Girdle of Isis" depicts a looped and folded cloth; they were placed on the neck of the deceased. The tyet symbolizes strength/power/protection. They are often red, for blood, as they represent the blood of Isis; her protection and by association the magic and power with which she raises the god Osiris/her husband from the dead. Life and death and regeneration are the essential beliefs in Ancient Egyptian mythos. 

The Djed pillar represents stability, strength, endurance, and protection. Symbolically it depicts a stylized Tree of Life and simultaneously Osiris' backbone. It was placed... near spines of the mummies and was thought to lend them strength. The spell in the Book of the Dead associated with them calls out to the god: 'Raise yourself up Osiris! You have your backbone once more. O weary-hearted One; you have your vertebrae!'

Thoth, Sekmet & Tawaret. glazed clay/faience.
 App. 1.75" - 2"

Amulets of Egyptian deities were worn to honor that god or goddess and seek their protection. There are so many, and so many interesting myths - I cant go into it all here...

( The Ancient Egyptian Mythology page gives an overview... )

 I will be discussing materials and methods in my next post though... 

What really inspired me lately - both in the studio and to write these posts - were the heart amulets. 

Images from Walters Art Gallery, The Met,  British Museum

Their shapes are reminiscent of urns - urns where the mummified actual heart was placed. These amulets were only used for the deceased, placed at the heart. Vessels often symbolize the soul across cultures, but to the Ancient Egyptians it was more:  For the ancient Egyptians, the heart (ib) was the source of intelligence, feelings, and actions. A person's memory was also housed in the heart and so at the judgment ceremony (Weighing of the Heart) in the afterlife, the heart was able to speak on behalf of the deceased, accounting to Osiris for a lifetime of deeds. Therefore, heart amulets were only used on the mummy to protect the owner's organ and to ensure that his heart gave a positive response at judgment.

Left: Anubis, God of Afterlife leads the soul. Center:Anubis (smaller) weighs the heart/urn against the feather of Maat. Right: Ammit, the Devourer of the Dead (hybrid crocodile, lion, hippo) awaits to eat any souls deemed unworthy. Thoth, God of Writing records the ritual. A jury of gods and goddesses are seated above to witness. 

Balanced against a feather? Yes. the feather of Maat.   She was the Goddess of truth, justice, balance, order, law, morality. She was world order and harmony; without her - chaos. So when the heart was balanced with a feather - it was a feather that stood for... "rightness" and a life lived in harmony with the principles of the culture. 

But I digress. The beads.... the inspiration... harvest from the studio ^10 gas fire reduction kiln... 

These are stoneware, very rustic, with a simple stain of iron oxide. The larger round one has bits of glaze in the impressed designs. I am thrilled with the results, and may have to save one for myself to wear at Beadfest! ( Come see me - Booth 461). I see it with earthy colors; jasper, jade... or maybe turquoise! Hmm. What do you think? 

Until next time - 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com