kay so being green in the whole scheme of things might not seem possible when creating pottery and ceramics, but give it a little thought and you might be able to come closer than you think.
ne of the biggest issues in not being green in this craft is of course the firing process, no surprise it is a huge energy drain. Of course that also depends on how often you fire, how full you kiln is, what temperature you are firing creations at. And all that too depends upon the type of pottery and ceramics you make. Having said that there are options available to help you being green or at the very least reduce the carbon footprint of your hobby and remember most of what I write about is to address the hobbyist as opposed to a potter or ceramist that runs a studio for profit or any manufacture of pottery for the purpose of making and selling it for a living. There is nothing wrong with any of that, it is just that for the most part I am talking to and about people like myself who do it for the shear enjoyment of the process but have a concern about their hobby being green.
ut enough beating ourselves up about being on the bad side of being green and for minute look at the good side. Pottery and ceramics have been around for centuries. Long before we even knew how to fire the mud to make it harder and longer wearing our ancestors were making huts from it and building benches to sit on. Later after they learned that it could be harden by the sun they learned how to shape into bowls and jugs for water. So, let's not forget that most of the raw product we use comes from the ground and can go back to the ground. How's that for the being green. And in doing so we are doing far less than that of by other crafts. Plastics, one of the world’s biggest problems when you consider life cycle doesn't get broken down by nature and is very detrimental to our environment. If you’re looking to being green in crafting this is definitely not the place to start. But, I am sure the bead makers and costume jewellery designer (again on the hobby side) aren't beating themselves up on the fact that the necklaces and earring they just created will like be around forever, possible not intact, but the remnants will remain. Where as potters and ceramics we face the constant threat that our much laboured over piece may be broken and throw away. The neat part is that if you break it at the greenware stage and throw it away (hopefully you will learn how to reclaim and reuse it) it will in a very short time disappear back into the earth in its original state. Here we get to being green again. Not that we want our hard work to return to the earth before we've had a chance to enjoy it. Even a bisque piece you become totally disenchanted with when your paint strokes or colour choices are quite what you had hoped, can be crushed up throw is away (in the earth not a landfill, that isn't part of a be green society) and it to will eventually disappear. So now you’re being green again. Now the downside of having fully glazed and fired a piece before deciding it isn't to your liking will of course prolong the decomposing process, but at the very least it to, over time and with much crushing and crunching will disappear into mother earth which helps you stay in the being green class. It just takes a little longer. That is where you were going to dispose of it, wasn't it?
o take heart in that you hobby compared to others can earn you the "being green" stamp of approval more so than many others.
©2010 MAJESTIC Hidden Valley Ventures Inc.
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