How to Make Ceramic Beads
Beads in all shapes and forms have become increasingly popular over the years. Ceramic beads have their own appeal. They can be simple and earthy to highly glazed and decorated. Each bead is its own miniature work of art. Making ceramic beads is not particularly difficult though there are a few little snags that can happen on the way. This article takes you through the basics of making a ceramic bead along with a few tips that can save you some heartbreak if you hit one of those snags.
The main thing you need to make a ceramic bead is clay! If you are starting out it is best to start with a white stoneware, or low-fire clay. Some people jump into using porcelain, but this is a very fragile medium to work with, as well as being very expensive to have fired. Save yourself the heartbreak and stick to a high quality stoneware.
Knead your clay well and form into a small ball, or lentil shape. You can loosely decorate your bead at this stage if you want to press designs into it, or leave that part till a bit later. Now comes perhaps the most important and fiddly part.
Making the hole
For this you will need a skewer of some kind. Kebab sticks make good hole makers for small beads. A variety of sizes is ideal for making different sized holes. The important thing to remember here is that clay shrinks as it dries. After its first firing it shrinks again and then again on the last firing. Occasionally your holes may close up. It is worth investing in a reamer if you are going to be making a lot of beads.
You can use all kinds of implements to engrave patterns on your bead. Ordinary household items are just fine. Forks, knives, screwdrivers, and a comb are some useful ones. Experiment with the kind of patterns you can make in your clay. They don't need to be overly ornate and fancy. Some beaders prefer to make a very light pattern on their bead and then intricately carve designs on when the clay is either leather hard or almost completely dry. Be aware though that if you try to carve into clay that is bone dry but unfired it becomes extremely brittle and will break easily. Some people wait till after the first (bisque) firing to make any carvings. At this point the clay is less fragile, but much harder to carve into - more like carving into stone. Patterned beads can be either directly glazed or have a stain or tint applied.
The bead tree - or rods
For the first firing beads can just be placed in an unfired or bisque fired bowl. Once a stain or glaze has been added though for the final firing your beads need to be kept off the kiln floor and walls. Commercial bead trees are available or you can look online and find out how to make your own. For really narrow holes the beads can be hung individually on wires and then hung over the bead tree.
There is no end to the interesting results you can achieve by making your own beautiful ceramic beads. Initial costs can be expensive though so it may be worth looking at some sharing options. Very small kilns are available but for the beginner it is probably worth looking around for a local place that will fire your beads for you. Join up with a friend to cover the costs of glazes and bead trees. Obviously there is a lot more to ceramic beads than can be included in this article. Explore and join some clubs or forums. It is a fun and relaxing craft to do with a friend. Expect a few disasters and learn from them. The world of ceramics is at times a frustrating one, but always rewarding and satisfying.