Ceramics Flashcards
Ceramic
Having to do with clay or glass or the 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 color.
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 pieces can be almost any shape and any size.
Stoneware
high-fire clay. Stoneware is waterproof even without glaze; the resulting ware is sturdier than earthenware.
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 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.
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 handleand a wire loop at one or both ends, used for carving and hollowing out clay forms.
Sprigging-On
A term used to decribe 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 temperatures neceessary to make it permanently hard and stone like. Kilns can be electric, natural gas,
