CeramicsCreating a ceramic vessel

Clay Clay is a natural 3-d

medium made from earth and water.

Clay is different from mud because it has plasticity, this means I can hold shape while being handled.

In Asheville at highwaterclays.com North Carolina wet clay is sold as cheap as $.55 per pound, but has a fifty pound minimum.

Basic Terms Ceramics – objects that

permanently retain their shape when heated to the necessary temperature.

Pottery – Moist clay shaped into utilitarian objects such as bowls, cups, plates, etc. then hardened by heat.

Basic Terms Continued Wedge – A way of

improving the workability of the clay by reforming the mixture to be homogeneous by evening the texture and eliminating the air bubbles.

Basic Terms Continued Kiln – may also be pronounced kill, is a specialized

oven design to heat clay to the high temperatures needed to change it’s chemical make-up.

Basic Terms Continued

Fire – Heating pottery to a temperature high enough to change it’s chemical make-up to render it a final product.

Hand Building Methods

Pinch pot

Slab Building

Coil Building

Hand Building Methods

Pinch pot - Hand building method which involves squeezing clay between thumb and fingers.

Hand Building Methods Coil Building –

Attaching long thin rolls of clay together to create a ceramic work.

Hand Building Methods Slab Building - Clay

building technique where thin sheets of clay are attached together to create a ceramic work.

Construction terms Scoring – scratching

the edges of clay before jointing. (ALWAYS SCORE DEEP)

Slip – a mixture of clay and water which acts as a clay glue.

Clay Stages Greenware - moist workable unfired clay.

Leatherhard - stage of clay where joining should happen, at this point clay is not moldable but may still be worked with.

Bone Dry - this is as dry as the clay gets without firing it. It is now ready for firing.

Clay Stages Bisqueware – clay which

has gone through a low fire in a kiln, this can not be recycled, will not yet hold water.

Glazeware - clay which has been glazed and fired at a high temperature, now is a finished product.

Glaze - a liquid glasslike substance which when fired creates a glasslike coating on a ceramic artwork.