Developing Ceramic Textured Matt Glazes Using Omani Plant Ash: The Contributions of Art Education Teachers

Badar Almamari

doi:10.18533/journal.v5i12.1047

Abstract

<p>It is widely known that ready-made glazes are hugely expensive, in spite of their widespread availability in Oman. Most students of ceramic art, at various levels of education, depend on foreign materials rather than local materials, which has resulted in high production costs. As an environmentally diverse country, Oman has great potential to take advantage of local crop waste plant waste by using it to make attractive ceramic glazes. Ann experimental study conducted at the ceramic studio in Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) led to the development of some excellent recipes for ceramic glazes using 20% to 30% ash. This study has helped to convert Omani plant waste into textured matt ceramic glazes, which are otherwise expensive to procure for educational and commercial purposes.</p>

Highlights

One of the most significant current discussions in ceramics and pottery researches is using environment waste materials in developing their creative pottery
A considerable part of this research is devoted to answering the question: To what extent can Omani plant waste contribute to the production of textured matt ceramic glazes? By using laboratory tests, this study has revealed that ash from some Omani plants can make a significant contribution to local textured matt glazes that are used to create a surface design, such as on tiles, handicrafts and a range of artistic products
The ceramic tiles used for the experiments in this research were made of white clay (PotteryCrafts white earthenware clays) and bisquette-fired at a low temperature to guarantee the absorption of the glaze sample

Summary

Introduction

One of the most significant current discussions in ceramics and pottery researches is using environment waste materials in developing their creative pottery. Most researches in developing abilities of art education teachers to take advantage of waste materials in teaching process have only been carried out in a small number of studies. There has been little discussion about using trees waste materials including their ashes in specific in teaching ceramics courses in Oman. Plant ash is very useful for making unique glazed surfaces on pottery; it has become important in art-education schools and ceramics studios in recent times. The organic elements found in plant ash supply potters with calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium, which are essential for making unique glazes. These elements supply potters with the proportion of fluxes and hardeners and these materials are necessary for making glaze recipes. Metcalfe (2008) cites Rogers, who mentions that the Chinese first developed ash glazes for stoneware about 3500 years ago, when the technology of their

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