Ceramic Flashcards
Ceramic
Having to do with clay or glass or making of objects from clay or glass.
Slip
Clay that has been watered down; acts as glue in slip/score technique. Slip a fine liquid form of clay applied to the surface of a vessel prior to firing. Slip fills in pores and gives uniform colors.
Score
To draw or make lines into clay.
Slip/Score Technique
Method used in hand building to connect two pieces of clay together
Wedging
Is the process of kneading the clay so as to remove air pockets and create uniform consistency of clay.
Coil Method
One of the oldest ways of forming pottery. Long strands of clay which are laid on top of each other and joined through blending coil to coil. Coil peices can be almost any shape and any size.
Stoneware
High-fire clay. Stoneware is waterproof even without glaze; the resulting ware is sturdier than earthware.
Slab
A flattened out piece of clay; you may use a rolling pin or slab roller to achieve a slab of clay. Clay slabs are cut to shape and joined together using scoring and wet clay called slip. Slabs can be draped over or into forms, rolled around cylinders or built-up into geometric forms. Large forms are difficult because of stresses on the seams and because tha slabs naturally sags. Some potters get around this by working fibers into the clay body. The fibers burn out during the firing, leaving a network of tiny holes.
Bone Dry
Clay that is completely dried but not yet fired.
Greenware
A term used to describe unfired clay objects in general.
Bisque Ware
Clay objects that have been fired for the first time and without any glaze applied to them.
Glaze Ware
Bisque ware that has been glazed then fired.
Fettling Knife
Is a special knife-like tool with a fairly flexible blade for cutting into moist and leather-hard clay.
Loop Tool
A special tool with a wooden handle and a wire loop at one or both ends, used for carving and hollowing out clay forms.
Sprigging-On
A term used to describe the technique of adding small clay forms as decoration on the surface of pottery forms; also called applied decoration.
Incising
Is a decoration technique, created by carving lines into the clay or carving small areas out of the clay but not perforating it.
Kiln
A furnace designed specifically for heating clay to the temperature necessary to make it permanetly hard and stone like. Kilns can be electric, natural gas, wood, coal, fuel oil, or propane. Materials used to heat the kiln can affect the work; wood ash can build up on the surfaces of a piece and form a glaze at high temperatures. Some potters introduce chemicals into the kiln to influence the effects of the firing. Famed ceramist Beatrice Wood achieved a luster effect by throwing moth balls into the kiln.
Element
The heating coils of an electric kiln. (Tired or burned-out elements refer to elements which carry too little or no electrical current for producing heat.)
Footing
The bottom of a piece that rests upon a surface. (May be wheel thrown or hand-built.)
Firing
Clay is hardened by heating it to a high temperature, fusing the clay particles. Primitive pottery is usually fired on the ground or in pits with whatever flammable material is avaliable. Kilns allow a more efficient use of materials and more control over the atmosphere during a firing. Firing has two basic atmospheres. Oxidation and Reduction, these to atmospheres will affect the color of the final piece.
Glaze
Glass-forming chemicals. usually with colorants added, that applied in liquid form to bisque ware and fired in a kiln, form a pleasing, usually glossy coating to the surface of the clay. Glaze can be colored, opaque, translucent or matte.
Slip Clay
Clay in liquid form.
Bat
A plaster disk or slab for clay work.
Casting
A clay form made from mold. May also be reffered to “plaster castings.”
Casting Slip
Is a liquid clay used in the process of formimg objects with molds. Also reffered to as “slip.”
China
A term which usually refers to the bone china of England, but also is associated with vitreous white wares and porcelain.
Conditioning Coat (glaze or underglaze)
Is a thin coat of color that will soak into the greenware or bisque ware.
Cone (Pyrometric cone)
A mixture of ceramic materials that is designed to soften and bend when the proper mixture of time and temperature is reached in the interior of the kiln.
Cone Plaque
It is a small clay cone holder used when cones are placed on the shelf of the kiln to stand.
Cone Temperature
Is the mixture of time and temperature at which the cone will bend to show the kilns temperature on the shelf.
Earthenware
A low-fire clay body which is fired to maturity at approximately 2000 oF.
Food-safe
A product that has been tested and determined to be safe for use on surfaces which come in contact with food or drink.
Foot
The base or the part of the piece of ceramic on which it rests.
Gloss
A shiny, glass like finish.
Kiln Wash
The refractory coating applied to the top of the kiln shelves to protect them from glaze drips.
Leather-hard
Greenware that is allowed to become firm but still retains its wet look.
Matte
A soft finish with little or no shine.
Opaque
Color which does not allow other colors to show threw.
Peep Holes
Small holes in the side of a kiln used for viewing shelf cones and ventilating the kiln during the firing process.
Pin Holes
Tiny holes in the final surface finish of a glaze or Underglaze.
Plasticity
Refers to the ability of clay to be formed into a shape and retain it.
Posts (kiln)
Articles made of refractory material which support kiln shelves during firing.
Semi-Matte
A satin-like surface which has a slight sheen to it.
Semi-Opaque
Colors which generally allow only dark colors to show through.
Semi-Transparent
Slightly colored and/or speckled colors which allow most colors to show through with only distortions.
Shelf Cone Temperature
The cone temperature that is fired on the shelf of a kiln. The amount of heating the ware actually recieves.
Sponge
Usually refers to a natural sponge used for cleaning and decorationg greenware. There are also synthetic sponges avaliable for ceramics.
Transparent
Clear base colors which are free from cloudiness or distortion.
Under Glaze
A color which is usually applied to greenware and in most cases is covered with a glaze.
Vent Holes
Small holes made by punturing the wet greenware with a needle tool when two pieces of ware have been attached. These small holes allow the air and gases to escape during firing. Also refers to the peep holes in the side of the kiln.
Pinch Pots
Starting with a ball of clay the potter opens a hole into the ball and forms a bowl shape through a combination of stroking and pinching the clay. Many coal-built pieces are constructed on top of a pinched bottom.
Terra Cotta
A brownish-orange earthenware clay body commonly used for ceramic sculpture.
Wheel Thrown
The term throw comes from Old Englidsh meaning spin. A piece of clay is placed on a potter’s wheel head which spins. The clay is shaped by compression while it is in motion. Often the potter will use several thrown shapes together to form one piece (a teapot can be constructed from three or four thrown forms).
