POT MAKINGThe art of pottery

BY:Smt.A.Parameswari

PRT(Adhoc)KV-TVR

Clay is a mix of naturally occurring materials made up primarily of fine-grained minerals. Think of very finely ground up rock. The fine partials of rock are suspended in water.

Different colors occur in clay because of impurities in the clay. Red clay is the results of Iron Oxide in the clay, while white clays get their color from Talc in the clay body.

WHAT IS CLAY?

The stages of clay refer to the different amounts of water mixed with the minerals that make up the clay.

More water makes the the clay softer to the touch, less water makes the clay harder to the touch.

S l i p C l a y

P l a s t i c C l a y

L e a t h e r H a r d C l a y

B o n e D r y C l a y

THE STAGES OF CLAY

G l u e

C a s t i n g

P a i n t i n g D e s i g n s

Slip clay is clay that has 25% clay to 75% water.

Slip clay is used for a couple of different things.

The first is as a glue when connecting two pieces

of plastic or leather hard clay together. The

second is as a decoration, when different colored

slips are

painted on a pot it will leave a chalky

painted design. The final use of slip clay

is as a way to castceramic

items in a mold. This is usually done

in production work, like the plates and

mugs that we see where the same

form is used over and over again.

STAGE 1 : SLIP CLAY

I m p r e s s e d t e x t u r e

W h e e l T h r o w i n g

C r e a t i n g F o r m s

Plastic clay is used when you are hand-building with

clay. Pinch pots,coil pots, and wheel throwing are all

done at this stage. Plastic clay is a mix of 50% clay

to 50% water. It is easy to mold by hand, and can be

connected together by scoring and slipping.You can tell a piece of plastic clay bysqueezing it, if it doesn’t crack, and is soft

between your fingers it isconsidered plastic. Plastic clay is the

best time to make unique forms in the

clay. The plastic stage of clay is also a

great time to work in new textures. By

pressing items into the clay new

surfaces will result, because the clay is

receptive to any texture!

STAGE 2 : PLASTIC CLAY

L e a t h e r H a r d C l a y S l a b sH a n d C a r v i n g

S l a b B o x F o r m s

Leather hard clay has 75% clay to 25% water in it. Leather

hard clay can be connected together by scoring and

slipping, but you do need to score aggressively to get the

pieces to stay together. Leather hard clay is hard and cold

to the touch, if

you have a slab of clay and lift it up, it

will not sag down. In this stage, the clay

will crack if you try to bend it. Leather hard clay is a great

STAGE 3 : LEATHER HARD CLAY

techniques

because it

stage to do carving or

subtractive sculpture

retains the carved

lines well.

C o n n e c t i n g s l a b s b y

s c o r i n g a n d g l u i n g w i t h

s l i p c l a y

G r e e n w a r e l o a d e d i n a K i l n

Bone dry clay is the final stage before the clay is fired.

Bone-dry clay has 100% clay to 0% water. In this stage you

cannot do any additive method, but you can do some

limited subtractive work. Bone-dry clay will crack and break

if pushed too hard, and is very fragile to the touch. When

clay reaches this

STAGE 4 : BONE DRY CLAY

B o n e D r y C u p sstage, you are usually ready to fire the work,

We call this finished “Greenware”.If you are not satisfied with your

work, you can reclaim the clay

by letting the clay soak it in

some water. By letting it sit for a

few days the clay will become

slip clay and start the process all

over again.

R e c l a i m i n g C l a y i n a b u c k e t o f

w a t e r

Clay must be fired in a Kiln to make it permanent. The kiln heats the clay up to 2000 degrees to fusethe minerals in the clay together. When clay comes out of the kiln after it’s first firing, it is

FIRING AND GLAZING THE CLAY

Glaze is the shiny, coating we see on most pieces of pottery. Glaze is made mostly of two components:

1. Silicaa finely ground and pure sand, that gives the glaze a shiny surface

2. Minerals thatgive the glazes their colors and textures.

G l a z e d P o t s

A v i e w i n s i d e a h o t k i l n

called “Bisqueware”. Bisqueware will not melt into slip if placed in water, and is ready to glaze.

Additive Sculpture Method: When two or more pieces of clay are pressed together to create a new form. Pieces that are done with the additive method should be scored and slipped to make them stick together. If a piece of clay is not scored and slipped it will most likely fall off in the firing.

SOME NEW SCULPTURE TERMS

A S u b t r a c t i v e P o t

A n A d d i t i v e S c u l p t u r eSubtractive Sculpture Method: When the clay is carved or pressed into it is considered a subtractive sculpture method. If the clay is carved or when clay is removed from the surface we call it a subtractive sculpture method.

Often, a work of ceramic art will have both additive and subtractive methods used at the same time B o t h A d d i t i v e &

S u b t r a c t i v e V a s e