Common Words Used In Pottery World

This are the common words used in pottery class, please familiarise yourself.

• Bisqueware: A clay piece that has been fired once to a 1000 degrees centigrade temperature.

• Cone (or ∆): Clay and glazes will react differently depending on the temperature inside a kiln; cones are a standardized measure of heat for firings.

• Clay body: There are many types of clay, earthenware (brown), stoneware and porcelain - and each has different characteristics like color—from white porcelain to black cassius basaltic—composition, and plasticity.

• Firing: Exposing clay to extreme heat in a kiln. Ceramic pieces require two firings.

• Glaze: A liquid that transforms into a hard, glass-like surface when fired in a kiln. Every glaze is composed of silica, alumina, and flux. Glaze is a liquid glass.

• Greenware: A clay piece that is unfired.

• Handbuilding: The name sounds pretty self-explanatory—building with your hands—but includes techniques like coil building, pinch pots, hard- and soft-slab, and more.

• Kiln: A custom oven for firing clay (greenware and bisqueware).

• Throwing: The act of using a wheel to shape clay.

• Wheel: A machine that features a flat, spinning disc; it’s used to create symmetrical vessels and ceramic pieces.