Ceramic Vocabulary Flashcards
Having to do with clay or glass or the making of objects from clay or glass
Ceramic
Clay that has been watered down; acts as glue in slip/score technique. Slip is a fine liquid form of clay applied to the surface of a vessel prior to firing. Slip fills in pores and gives uniform color.
Slip
To draw or make lines into clay
Score
Method used in hand building to connect two pieces of clay together.
Slip/Score Technique
is the process of kneading the clay so as to remove air pockets and create uniform consistency of clay
Wedging
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. Coil pieces can be almost any shape and any size.
Coil Method
High-fire clay. stoneware is waterproof even without glaze; the resulting ware is sturdier than earthenware.
Stoneware
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.
Slab
Clay that is completely dried but not yet fired
Bone Dry
A term used to describe unfired clay objects in general
Greenware
clay objects that have been fired for the first time and without any glaze applied to them
Bisque ware
Bisque ware that has been glazed then fired
glaze ware
is a special knife like tool with a fairly flexible blade for cutting into moist and leather hard clay.
fettling knife
a special tool with a wooden handle and a wire loop at one or both ends, used for carving and hollowing out clay forms.
loop tool
a term used to describe the technique of adding small clay forms as decoration on the surface of pottery forms; also called applied decoration
sprigging on
is a decoration technique, created by carving lines into the clay or carving small areas out of the clay but not perforating it
incising
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 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 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
kiln
the heating coils of an electric kiln. ( tired or burned-out elements refer to elements which carry to little or no electrical current for producing heat)
element
the bottom of a piece that rests upon a surface (may be wheel thrown or hand-built). there are two kinds: raised and flush.
footing
clay is hardened by heating it to a high temperature, fusing the clay particles.
firing
