Page 10 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

2: Common ceramics
For thousands of years people have made
many things using clay and sand. They are
the traditional materials that make up what
we normally think of as ceramics – mugs
and plates, vases and pots, bricks and roof tiles. The same materials also make up the bulk of cement and concrete.
The very first ceramics were probably moulded from wet clay and allowed to dry in the sun. adobe brick is still made this way. It is not a material of great sophistication, but it can be crafted into some very practical objects, such as adobe houses used throughout the world; skillfully used, it can be turned into beautiful architecture.
Early clay vessels, like adobe houses, had a very big limitation: They were not waterproof and could only be used for a short time before liquid leaked through. Nonetheless, clay bowls and mugs were used as simple drinking vessels for thousands of years. They can be thought of as the original disposable cups.
Needless to say, people looked for ways of making their utensils stronger and harder as well as being watertight. It was probably by accident that people found out that this was just what happened if they threw a fragment of clay onto a fire.
With the knowledge of how heating can transform clay, it became possible to make bricks and roof tiles that would not fall part when it rained.
Clay bricks proved to be good but not very strong. They were improved by adding straw to the brick – thus creating the first reinforced fibre materials.
(Above and below) Here you can see the coarse, open structure of adobe. The straw acts as fibres, binding the clay and manure together.
10