Ceramic Clay Work Surface

The brightly colored flat craft foam that has become so popular for children s toys puzzles and crafts makes a wonderful work surface for handbuilding.

Ceramic clay work surface. The closed cell foam is about 1 8 inch thick and doesn t leave a texture on clay so the larger sheets are great for rolling small slabs on a slab roller. Every potter needs a surface to wedge clay on and there are many different types. You can make window clings by drizzling liquid polymer clay onto a ceramic tile and baking it directly on the tile. Though it is possible to work from a taped down sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap if you plan to work with polymer clay extensively you ll probably want to find a more permanent work surface.

It can also be impossible to separate a newly formed clay object from the surface it was formed on. The simplest wedging surface is a piece of canvas. Common examples are earthenware porcelain and brick. Clay will stick to or leave vast smears on most surfaces.

Other possibilities are concrete granite masonite concrete board and hardibacker board. The crystallinity of ceramic materials ranges from highly oriented to semi crystalline vitrified and often completely amorphous e g glasses. Or you can use the smooth surface to give a glossy surface to your clay after baking. A ceramic tile not an acrylic tile is a common choice for this purpose.

For this reason it is best to work on a piece of sturdy canvas such as a mid to heavyweight cotton duck.