Ceramic Terms

Question 1

Ceramic

Answer 1

Having to do with clay or glass or the making of objects from clay or glass.

Question 2

Slip

Answer 2

clay that has been watered down; acts as glue in slip/score technique. Slip a fine, liquid form of clap applied to the surface of a vessel prior to firing. Slip fills in pores and gives uniform color.

Question 3

Score

Answer 3

to draw or make lines into clay

Question 4

Slip/Score Technique

Answer 4

method used in hand building to connect two pieces of clay together.

Question 5

Wedging

Answer 5

Is the process of kneading the clay so as to remove air pockets and create uniform consistency of clay

Question 6

Coil Method

Answer 6

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 pieces can be almost any shape and any size.

Question 7

Stoneware

Answer 7

high-five clay. Stoneware is waterproof even without glaze; the resulting ware is sturdier than earthenware.

Question 8

Slab

Answer 8

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 the slab 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.

Question 9

Bone Dry

Answer 9

Clay that is completely dried but not yet fired

Question 10

Greenware

Answer 10

A term used to describ unfired clay objects in general.

Question 11

Bisque Ware

Answer 11

Clay objects that have been fired for the first time and without any glaze applied to them.

Question 12

Glaze Ware

Answer 12

bisque ware that has been glazed then fired.

Question 13

Fettling Knife

Answer 13

Is a special knife-like tool with a fairly flexible blade for cutting into moist and leather -hard clay

Question 14

Loop Tool

Answer 14

a special knife-like tool with a wooden handle and a wire loop at one or both ends, used for carving and hollowig out clay forms.

Question 15

Sprigging-on

Answer 15

A term used to describe the technique of adding small clay forms as decoration on the surfaceof pottery forms; also called applied decoration.

Question 16

Incising

Answer 16

Is a decoration technque, created by carving lines into the clay or carving small areas out of the clay but not perfornating it.

Question 17

Kiln

Answer 17

A furnace designed specifically for heating clay to the temperatures necessary to make it permanently hard and stone like. Kilns can be electric, natural gas, wood, coal, fuel oil or pronane. 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.

Question 18

Element

Answer 18

The heating coils of an elctric kiln. (Tired or burned-out elements refer to elements which carry too little or no electrical current for producing heat).

Question 19

Footing

Answer 19

the bottom of a piece that rests upon a surface (may be wheel thrown or hand-built). There are two kinds: raised and flush.

Question 20

Firing

Answer 20

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 available. 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 two atmospheres will affect the color of the final piece.

Question 21

Glaze

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Slip Clay

Answer 22

Clay in liquid form

Question 23

Bat

Answer 23

A plaster disk or slab for clay work

Question 24

Casting

Answer 24

A clay form made from a mold. May also be reffered to “plaster castings”

Question 25

Casting Slip

Answer 25

Is liquid clay used in the process of forming objects with molds. Also reffered to as “slip”

Question 26

China

Answer 26

A term which usually refers to the bone china of England, but also is associated with vitreous white wares and porcelain.

Question 27

Conditioning Coat (glaze or underglaze)

Answer 27

Is a thin coat of color that will soak into the greenware or bisque ware.

Question 28

Cone (Pyrometric cone)

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

Cone Plaque

Answer 29

Is a small clay cone holder used when cones are placed on the shelf of the kiln to stand

Question 30

Cone Temperature

Answer 30

Is the mixture of time and temperature at which the cone will bend to show the kilns temperature on the shelf

Question 31

Earthenware

Answer 31

A low-fire clay body which is fired to maturity at approx. 2000 oF

Question 32

Food-safe

Answer 32

A product that has been tested and determined to be safe for use on surfaces which come in contact with food or drink

Question 33

Foot

Answer 33

The base or the part of the piece of creamic on which it rests

Question 34

Gloss (G)

Answer 34

A shiny, glass-like finish

Question 35

Kiln Wash

Answer 35

The refractory coating applied to the top of the kiln shelves to protect them from glaze drips

Question 36

Leather-hard

Answer 36

Greenware that is allowed to become firm but still retains its wet look

Question 37

Matte (M)

Answer 37

A soft finish with little or no shine

Question 38

Opaque (O)

Answer 38

Color which does not allow other colors to show through

Question 39

Peep Holes (Vent holes)

Answer 39

Small holes in the side of a kiln used for viewing shelf cones and ventilating the kiln during the firing processs.