The Colours of the Soil

The Colours of the Soil: Those Who Give Life to the Mud

Organized by the Municipality of Büyükçekmece, “The Colours of the Soil: Those who give life to the mud” is comprised of the works of porcelain painters Figen Özden, Meral Ezel and Canan Bağ.

By its simplest definition, ceramic is simply “baked soil”. Other objects that use clay as its raw material, which are shaped by hand via clay turntable or plaster mould, then dried and baked consecutively are also defined as ceramic. While the first use of ceramic had started approximately at 4000 B.C, the porcelain as we know of today first appeared in China at approximately 1000 A.D. The arts of porcelain and porcelain painting were brought to Europe from China by travellers in the 17th Century. Today, porcelain dyes are made of chemical and mineral dyes. Powdered essence of turpentine is mixed with oils such as lavender, clove or fennel oils and once it thickens, it is applied on glaze via brush or a dip pen. The painting of some patterns may require curing in between, while it’s sufficient to cure only once in other techniques.