7 Quick Takes: Painting Pottery Field Trip

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Today we took a break from the books and headed to a local pottery paint studio to paint some pieces and take a tour of how the pieces are glazed in the oven.  My children painted small dolphins, a mug for Father's Day, treasure chests, a turtle, and I made a square tile with my baby's handprints to give to my husband for Father's Day.  We were busy! 

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As everyone finished painting, we went to where the pieces are finished so that the final product is the nice, shiny look.  Here the worker is showing us a big tub of green goo, which is actually the glaze mixture that dries clear when heated.  

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So everyone got to dip their pieces in the green glaze.  Only half of each piece was dipped because you don't want fingerprints on the green stuff.  So the workers will dip the other side later to completely cover the piece. 

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You can see an example of how the green glaze covers the entire piece hiding the paint as shown in the bowl above. 

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Then each piece is put on a board with nails so that the piece can dry evenly at the bottom as it is being heated in the oven. 

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We were then told more about the ovens and how they take many hours to heat up and to cool down.  Temperatures reach 1000 degrees, I think! (At least that is what my daughter remembers the lady saying.) :)  

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The white knobs with holes in them helps the ovens cool down.  I can't remember what else she said at this point because I was being distracted with my baby. :) 

I don't have an example of a finished product since I was distracted and had to get home quickly.  We will pick up our creations in about a week and the kids are looking forward to seeing how theirs will turn out!  Maybe if I remember I'll post our creations on my blog.  

I learned a lot about pottery painting on this little field trip and so did my children! 

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