Courtyard House: Starting in a Ceramics Factory

Chapter 26 The Benefits of Having a Master
搓料
Twisted pearl material
In ceramic famille rose, pearl pigment is used for outlining, and it is also one of the most important pigments in famille rose painting.

Generally speaking, most of the lines in pastel figure paintings, such as clothing folds, background scenery, rocks, grass, and trees, are painted using pearl pigments.

As for the hair, it was drawn using a deep black or black pigment.

As for the red color, in ceramics jargon it's called "Western Red".

It is generally used to outline the face of a person, or some red background and clothing.

For example, red lanterns, embroidered balls, and wedding attire.

Today we don't need to knead other colors, just the pearl-like material.

Next

Master Lin asked Li Feng to find a small, discarded porcelain slab.

It's about 20*20 centimeters.

of course!

If you don't have any discarded small ceramic slabs, you can use a glass plate instead.

Any smooth and flat board will do.

At this point, Master Lin asked Li Feng to put the small porcelain plate on the table, and then Master Lin took out a small bag of seasoning powder from the drawer.

Li Feng estimated that this small bag of powder contained about half a pound.

Master Lin took out two cutting tools from a pen holder. These two cutting tools were not big. The heads of the cutting tools were only about the thickness of a thumb, and the handles were only about eight or nine centimeters long.

Then Master Lin used a cutting knife to scoop out about two or three scoops' worth of pearl-like material from the bag, which was about the amount of a ceramic soup spoon.

After scooping out the pearl material, Master Lin put away the bag and then picked up a bottle from the table.

Li Feng discovered
It turned out to be a bottle for frankincense oil.

At this moment, Master Lin said to Li Feng.

"Li Feng!"

"Watch closely, I'll teach you the ratio of frankincense oil and pearl powder."

"This is also a very important part."

"The quality of the lines drawn on ceramics depends heavily on the materials used."

"Rubbing the material means crushing the particles in the pearl material into smaller pieces."

"Only in this way can the drawing be smooth."

Upon hearing this, Li Feng immediately nodded to Master Lin and spoke earnestly.

"I will watch it carefully."

When Master Lin saw that Li Feng knew, he began to pour frankincense oil into the pile of pearl materials.

At first, Master Lin only poured out a little bit.

Master Lin then started stirring.

It's like mixing cement.

However, cement contains a lot of water, while pearl powder contains very little frankincense oil.

Even with a cutting tool, it feels like it can't be rubbed properly.

It's very dry and bland.

At this point, Li Feng asked Master Lin.

"Master Lin, why don't you add a little more?"

Master Lin shook his head as he explained to Li Feng.

"We can't add more than this."

"Adding more frankincense oil can make the mixture smoother and better."

"but!".

"The pearl material with added frankincense oil will make the lines drawn very rough and scratchy."

"A sense of incompleteness."

"Only lazy people would do this."

"This is absolutely not allowed here."

Upon hearing this, Li Feng nodded earnestly to Master Lin.

"I understand, I won't do that."

Master Lin nodded in satisfaction after hearing Li Feng's assurance.

After all, Master Lin had a high opinion of Li Feng.

At first, Master Lin thought that Li Feng really liked porcelain and had some knowledge of traditional Chinese painting, so Master Lin told Li Feng that he could come and visit whenever he had time.

Master Lin was just saying it casually at the time.

After all, some people come here just to take a look.

Or they might not come at all.

When Master Lin saw Li Feng's expression, he felt that Li Feng really wanted to learn.

So at that time, Master Lin asked Li Feng to draw a picture, and the result was really good.

They are much better than the apprentices I took in before.

So much so that Master Lin was willing to teach Li Feng; otherwise, Master Lin wouldn't be here patiently explaining these things to Li Feng.

When Master Lin had kneaded the dough until it was half-dry, he asked Li Feng.

"Did you understand how I just rubbed the material?" Li Feng nodded quickly after hearing Master Lin's words.

"I understand now."

Master Lin handed the cutting knife in his hand to Li Feng.

"Just like I just rubbed it, press and rub it with the material knife!"

"It'll be almost done when it turns into a paste."

Li Feng took the cutting knife from Master Lin's hand and then assured Master Lin.

"I will definitely knead it well."

Seeing that Li Feng understood, Master Lin went back to painting the porcelain.

Master Lin now spends almost every day working overtime painting, and painting is no less efficient than pottery making.

Sometimes it takes a day or two to complete a painting.

Moreover, there's a lot of stock available recently.

As a result, Master Lin often has to work overtime.

of course!

In other workstations in the painting workshop, people were also working overtime.

only!

Whether or not to work overtime depends on the subject matter of the ceramics being produced.

For example, if there are many landscape paintings, then those who paint landscapes will have to work overtime more.

That's not necessarily true.

of course!

Some people are skilled enough to paint figures, flowers and birds, and landscapes, but such people are rare.

After all, there are very few artists who are all-around talented.

They usually combine traditional Chinese painting with freehand brushwork, or they might combine landscapes with flowers and birds.

As for the others, there are very few.

Next

Li Feng began frantically pressing and kneading the material on the discarded small ceramic slab.

Because learning opportunities are hard to come by, Li Feng cherishes this opportunity.

Li Feng understood that in this era, he could only rely on himself.

There was no other way to go.

Therefore, Li Feng was very serious and focused.

While Li Feng was preparing the porcelain, Master Lin was painting it, and he glanced at it a few times.

He thought Li Feng was very serious and didn't try to cheat at all, which made Master Lin very satisfied.

Given Master Lin's personality, he dislikes those who are cunning and deceitful.

Almost an hour has passed.

Li Feng finally managed to knead the material into the paste-like consistency that Master Lin had described. Li Feng had thought that such dry material wouldn't be able to be kneaded into a paste-like consistency, but it turned out that it really was possible.

Master Lin was right.

That's the advantage of having a mentor; without one, you don't know how long it would take to figure things out.

Sometimes, even very simple things can take a long time to figure out without a mentor's guidance, and you might not even be able to figure it out, or you might go astray.

Therefore, having a good mentor is very important.

At this moment, Li Feng presented the kneaded material, along with the porcelain plate, to Master Lin for inspection.

Master Lin simply dipped a small amount of pearl material into his cutting tool, then gently pulled it, and the paste-like pearl material began to form threads.

Master Lin examined the strands of dough and thought Li Feng's kneading was quite good.

So Master Lin picked up the material dish on the table and scraped all the pearl-like material from the porcelain plate into the dish.

Then Master Lin asked Li Feng to clean the cutting knife and ceramic plate with alcohol and tissue paper.

Li Feng immediately did as instructed.

Li Feng used straw paper soaked in alcohol to wipe the cutting knife and the porcelain plate.

Just as Master Lin said.

It was indeed wiped very clean.

Seeing that Li Feng had wiped it clean, Master Lin nodded to Li Feng and said...

That's about enough for today.

"We'll talk about the rest tomorrow."

"Once your hand stops shaking, continue tracing."

Then, Master Lin began packing up to leave work, while Li Feng finished eating the food he had gotten from the cafeteria.

Ah!
It's all cold.

At this moment, Li Feng couldn't help but think.

Next time I call, I'll eat here, and then I'll draw.

Otherwise, if you keep eating cold food, you're bound to get sick.

(End of this chapter)