When it comes to grinding clay, stone mills can only be used to crush and grind clay in ancient times. However, the effects that modern machines can achieve are definitely not comparable to stone mills.
Of course, although we now have ball mills, sometimes we still need to use this grinding disc to grind ore.
Although ancient craftsmanship has many flaws, only certain things made by hand can achieve specific effects.
Therefore, modern machines cannot be fully used, otherwise it will be counterproductive very quickly.
Take some clay, break it into small pieces, and then grind it bit by bit.
This requires a lot of experience. When most people are apprentices, they do it little by little every day, over and over again.
The distance of each step is even, and the strength of the hand is also very symmetrical. These are all in the bones and memory of the craftsman.
It often takes several years to become a master, and it takes more than ten years or decades to become a master.
Think about it, just grinding the clay, walking hundreds of times a day for decades on this small millstone, the length of this walking can be at least 36 times around the earth!
In fact, for Chen Wenzhe, doing all this is not difficult.
The main reason is that he has been baptized by the inheritance of Clay Man Zhang. Knowing the craftsmanship of Clay Man Zhang, it can be said that he has achieved the ultimate in digging mud.
If it were the original, how would Chen Wenzhe know that the clay material still needs to be stale after it reaches the end?
The most important thing is that Chen Wenzhe can further process clay materials through the inheritance of clay figurine Zhang.
For example, if you add some things, such as cotton wool, grass fiber, etc., the Tang Sancai pottery figurines produced in this way will not crack. As for fading or other things, you need to look at the method of preparing the glaze.
This time when making Tang Sancai pottery, Chen Wenzhe wanted the artistic effect of the Tang Dynasty Sancai pottery, not for high imitation.
Therefore, disadvantages and shortcomings must be discarded. He only takes the essence and discards the dross.
For example, judging from the carcasses of unearthed artifacts, craftsmen in the Tang Dynasty were not very precise in their choice of tire material, and the tire material contained mineral impurities such as quartz particles.
At this point, you can keep improving, first grind the mineral materials with a ball mill, and finally process them manually.
In this way, you can get handmade products and achieve the most delicate level.
This kind of treatment places higher requirements on the early mud production.
Fortunately, as long as you have money, you can buy anything. Even mud that has been used for more than ten years can be bought as long as you have the will and money.
Li Jinli had bought high-grade kaolin clay that had been stale for several years before, and now it was no problem to buy some specific clay materials.
If Chen Wenzhe wanted to, he could even buy suitable clay directly.
This is the power of the modern industrial chain, so that he does not have to waste time. After a series of processes such as selection, spring pounding, grinding, washing, precipitation, kneading, kneading, aging, etc., he can process it into ready-made clay.
Of course, he still needs to do it this time. After all, no matter how much you know about some things, if you don't do it once, you will always be in trouble.
Chen Wenzhe is very familiar with making various clay materials and can do it very quickly.
The main reason is that the kaolin clay he purchased is considered a semi-finished product. He only needs to process it a little and mix it into mud before it can be used.
Therefore, when making clay, he was very fast.
Once you have the appropriate clay, you also need to make a mold. With the mold, it is very convenient to make some types of utensils.
Mold making is the process of dividing and molding the sculptured work.
Simple shapes require fewer divisions, even as few as one or two molds.
Complex shapes such as figurines of heavenly kings, tomb beasts, horses of different shapes, architectural models, etc. often require more molds to be reproduced.
For irregular parts, a mold set is required, so there are often as many as a dozen pieces of this type of modeling mold.
Molds are divided into two types: single mold and closed mold.
Single mold is suitable for small accessories such as decals and pile plastics used for decoration on utensils.
The closed mold is made by pressing two half-molds and then butt-gluing them together. It is suitable for various characters, animals and some living utensils.
With the right molds, it becomes very easy to make some figures and animal shapes.
First, put the kneaded and aged clay with moderate hardness into the mold and press it with your hands.
Its thickness can be flexibly controlled according to the size of the object to be made, and then the mold is bonded with mud.
When the clay in the mold has a certain strength, take it out and assemble it for bonding, and use a special tool to smooth the bonded parts.
Finally, apply it with your fingers and touch up with a pen or brush dipped in water.
Skilled craftsmen can easily make the carcass even and moderately thick during this process, and the bonded parts will be seamless and as if they are one body.
However, every time you create a new work, you must first make a prototype.
This is the final prototype for all subsequent works.
Chen Wenzhe's hands are very good, and he has made suitable molds, so he can naturally make some of the types of utensils he wanted before.
The first is the camel and horse, which can be said to be the most classic shapes among the three-color glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty.
So, why are the images of camels and horses more common in Tang Dynasty tricolor paintings?
During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, all nations came to visit the dynasty, exchanges between China and foreign countries were unprecedentedly frequent, and supplies arrived in the prosperous Tang Dynasty through the Silk Road in an endless stream.
The person responsible for this arduous mission is none other than the Camel of the Western Regions.
Therefore, people at that time regarded camels as a symbol of wealth and honor, and people in the Tang Dynasty were famous for their love of horses.
Therefore, people in the Tang Dynasty competed to use tricolor camels and tricolor horses as burial objects as ancient artifacts.
This is why most of the Tang Sancai we see are camels and horses.
The design drawings previously made by Chen Wenzhe can now be used.
In the past, when he made design drawings, he was a bit cunning and used ready-made designs, such as the three-color black-glazed pottery horse.
The authentic three-color black-glazed pottery horse dates from the Tang Dynasty between 618 and 907 AD. It was unearthed in Yangluo in 1972 and is now stored in the National Museum.
The various three-color horses unearthed from Tang tombs, although in various shapes and forms, all have the characteristics of small heads, round hips, well-proportioned bodies, fat bodies and strong bodies, which are a reflection of the body shape of horses in the Western Regions at that time.
Except for the white glaze on the face, mane, tail and hooves of this horse figurine, the whole body is covered with black glaze, which is rare among Tang Sancai.
Moreover, the shape is majestic, the glaze color is well-proportioned, and the posture is natural, making it a rare masterpiece among the three-colored horses of the Tang Dynasty.
The finished product of this exquisite piece of tri-color pottery is hollow, but of course, the original mold is solid.
Chen Wenzhe has his own unique carving technique, which allows him to process the original mold and create the effect he wants.
This is particularly important. After all, old objects can be copied, but the spirit of this horse cannot be copied.
After the carving is completed, the clay is put in, and the film is pressed, you can get a pottery horse.
At this time, Chen Wenzhe's carving technique can be revealed.
Lifelikeness is nothing, the main thing is the spirit, which can only be expressed by a master's craftsmanship.