Ceramic Study Sheet

Study Sheets
Elementary Art

Ceramics

There are five main ways of forming clay pottery:

modeling-Clay is pinched, squeezed, carved into, and separate pieces bonded together, etc., to achieve the desired form, often to create sculptural works, sometimes with an underlying paper armature which burns out during firing.
coil-Long thin coils are rolled out and stacked, then bonded together to form the walls of a pot.
slab-Clay may be rolled into flat sheets, cut to shape, the shapes being bonded together to form the walls of a pot or sculpture.
slip molds-Slip (a watered-down clay) is poured into a mold then poured back out. After each application is dry, this step is repeated until the desired thickness of the walls of the piece is achieved. The mold is removed to reveal a hollow sculpture.
turning-The clay is turned as the pot is formed. Throwing on a wheel involves the clay being turned on a wheel by a motor, or else a shaft runs from the top wheel to another underneath which is kicked by the foot to turn the top wheel. The potters hands mainly work up and down in one spot as the clay turns through them. Making pinch pots involves pinching the clay as it is turned by one hand while it rests in the palm of the other to achieve a consistent thickness to the walls. Basic form may be determined by positioning the pinching hand in toward the center to make the form round like a bowl, straight up to make a cup-like form, and out from center to make the form lay flat like a dish or plate.

There are three main stages a ceramic piece goes through from start to finish:

greenware-Greenware is simply what dried clay pieces are called before they are fired.
bisque or biscuit-This is the stage a pot is in when it has been fired one time and has achieved a hardened state, like rock or glass.
glaze-glaze is applied to a piece in a variety of ways (with a brush, by pouring, or dipping, etc.), and when fired it provides it with a shiny, colorful surface. This is not only a way to decorate the work, but also to seal the surface of the clay.

Additional vocabulary:

kiln-This is what the oven that clay pottery is "baked" in is called. Normally, cool clay is placed into a cool kiln, which gradually heats up to the right temperature. The kiln then cools down before the pots are removed.
firing-This is what potters call the process of "baking" clay pots in the kiln.
cone-This is a means of determining that the kiln has reached the proper temperature to harden the pots or melt the glaze. Different cones are made to bend at different temperatures. They are visible through a peep-hole in the kiln door.
raku-This Japanese method of glaze firing involves placing the glazed piece into a kiln that is already hot. When the glaze has melted, it is taken out immediately and placed in a basin or pit that is filled with dry leaves, sawdust, or paper which then smolders from the heat. The fast removal of the pot from the heat into the cooler air causes cracks to form in the glaze, and the smoke from the burning material into which the pot is placed seeps into the cracks which make them stand out starkly to produce the unique look of a raku piece.