Twisting: An Innovative Combination of Coil and Slab Building Techniques in Ceramic Art

Abstract

This work seeks to create decorative ceramics wares which would be self-decorating to reduce the time of attention given to the surface of ceramics wares by incorporating twisting and weaving techniques into the production of the wares by drawing my inspiration from the climbing plant. Two hand forming techniques namely slab making and coiling were successfully combined to create twisted and woven wares. It also seeks to demonstrate how clay can be twisted and woven into intricate shapes for outdoor decorations. These twisted and woven wares reduced the tendency of cutting and incising as an afterthought finishing but forms an integral part of the work. Production of the wares were based on the basic units’ formation as the building blocks which were pre-formed and allowed to get leather hard and joined together in the building process. It looked at the possibility of providing an alternative to the conventional way of building ceramic wares, particularly the solidness in their form; so as to break the monotony of sold form production and present forms with surfaces which are with self-decorative appeal. There are about seven forming techniques I have experienced in ceramic art, and still counting, namely Pinching, Slab making, Coiling, Wheel Throwing, Slip Casting, Jiggering, Jollying, Ram Press, Modeling and Sculpting. The above basic techniques allows both learners and master ceramic artist to explore hand building creativity and come out with fascinating ceramics or pottery wares. My technique of production is what I term as <i>twisting </i>and my style as<i> twistism,</i> which I developed from the combination of two hand formations methods, namely, slab forming and coil making. As happened in painting, where a group of painters lead by Pablo Picasso in 1907, pronounced monotony on the line and style of painting at that time, in the late twentieth century and brought about “<i>cubism</i>”, so do I feel and seeks to digress from tradition to bring about forming variation, which I termed as “<i>twistism</i>” in ceramics, whereas the attention will be on how to manipulate the clay by twisting strips of slabs and creating non solid forms out of that as well as weaving coils to produce ceramic wares. I therefore put forward for the acceptance and inclusion of this technique, twisting as a basic forming technique in addition to pinching, slab making and coiling.