Ceramic Review: Masterclass with Barbara Gittings 

You are mistaken, firing in a barrel with newspapers - decorative, first you need to burn in the kiln at 1000 degrees

That wasn’t obvious, I got the same picture but really scratched my head since newspapers don’t burn enough hot. I thought she used some special clay.

@@lottaleijon6654 It could be a low fire clay or a Raku clay. I was surprised at how short the fire seemed. Even using a barbecue grill takes time.

I thought she said it was bisque fired then she sanded it with wet and dry?

She is a hand builder. No wheel, no casting.

It seems to be a very basic pot or kettle firing. Which means it's likely not properly sintered as there's no holding time (soak) and it's a high fire material. The only reason I can make out for using porcelain here is the whitness of the clay, smoothness I guess although that's easily achieved with any clay without grogg. I'd have assumed porcelaine would be prone to cracking in the more primitive firing techniques. I've only ever used grogged claybodies for this, pitfiring etc etc. Her work is quite thick walled though, especially for porcelain. She's treating it as earthenware but using mostly oxides for coloration without glaze seems to be her main reason for using this material instead, for the whitness of the uncolored work, and for porcelains compatibility with paper fibres. Which I assume to some degree act as grogg against shock problems. Porcelsine mixed with cellulose is more lightweight than other ceramic bodies. That may also be a consideration in her aesthetics. They look alot lighter than the slabs visible in her process here. Which is quite an interesting quality in her work. I've not seen her pieces irl so just my assessment from this video. I quite enjoy her work and seeing someone use this very low tech approach in creating quite delicate results with a very artful expression. Like someone else pointed out its important to see that modern pottery pieces in the fine art realm don't nessecarily mean high tech, large scale work. Not even the standard equippment for a ceramicist here. Yet the work is just as intentional and interesting. It's rare to see showcased like in this video. As these arent functional pieces to hold liquids or handle alot, her method works well and allows for the natural chaos from the elements to also make a mark on her finished work.

@@gnarbeljo8980 I understand, the works are bisque fired first.

@@matyasmaria7737 oh, I think I may have missed that part. That would account for it not shattering. Never seen. Porcelain treated this way, it's interesting!

It is bisque fired first

It is a Japanese technique.