The first step in creating your ceramic bisque is to start with nature's own clay. Like a great sculptor needs his wood, stone or ice, the ceramic bisque creator will need clay. Mix your clay with some water and what you are left with is called slip.

The next vital piece of your ceramic bisque puzzle is a plaster mould. The purpose of the mould is to leech away all the unnecessary water. Your slip goes into the mould and, as the water is removed the clay will cling to the walls of your mould. This water is then drained off and what you are left with is a shell, which is still very wet, very fragile.

Ceramic bisque cannot, of course, be wet. Your clay is left in the mould and allowed to dry. As it dries it hardens, once the moisture has been pulled out of the clay you will be free to release it from the mould.

It is always a wonderful experience when the mould is cracked revealing your future piece of ceramic bisque. To the untrained eye it may look like a hollow clay shell but in your visualization you are already seeing your wonderful completed piece of ceramic bisque.

Please keep in mind that by virtue of the fact that your ceramic bisque is coming out of a mould means that there will be seams. These seam lines will need to be removed along with any other imperfections your ceramic bisque may have.

The last station on your ceramic bisque creation train is firing. Your ceramic bisque piece will remain in the oven for up to 6 hours at temperatures in excess of 1800 F. This will remove all the remaining moisture and harden your ceramic bisque.

When removed from the kiln your ceramic bisque is a completed product. All that remains is to finish it in the paint finish that you have chosen. This in itself is an exciting finale to your "masterpiece".

Sources: www.streamers.com/gbk.htm