clay products Flashcards
what is clay
a stiff, sticky fine-grained earth that can be moulded when wet, and is dried and
baked to make bricks, pottery, and ceramics. It is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals.
how was clay discovered
Early men and women then discovered that they could
harden the molded pottery in hot ashes and make
sturdy containers to transport and store food.
types of clay
The four types of clay are Earthenware clay,
Stoneware clay, Ball clay, and Porcelain. All
of them can be used to make pottery, but the end
result would differ a lot thanks to their different
textures, colors, and flexibilities.
pottery vs ceramics
Pottery is a type of ceramic, specifically containers made out of clay.
Ceramics are generally made by taking mixtures of clay, earthen elements,
powders, and water and shaping them into desired forms. Once the ceramic
has been shaped, it is fired in a high-temperature oven known as a kiln.
hand techniques in ceramics
Pinching/pinch pot.
Slab Construction.
Coiling/Coil Construction.
Mold Slip Casting.
pinching
(Pinch pots) are the simplest and oldest method of construction. They are made
by rolling a ball, pressing your thumb in and pinching the pot until you get your desired
form.
slab
Slabs can be made in a variety of methods. The most common method is to roll out the slab by hand using a
rolling pin. Other methods include using slab rollers, extruders, and hand tossing
coil
Coiled pots are constructed by gradually stacking and joining coils of clay one on top of the other. The coils
can be left visible or can be smoothed away
mold casting or slip casting
Slip casting, or slipcasting, is a ceramic forming technique for
pottery and other ceramics, especially for shapes not easily
made on a wheel. In this method, a liquid clay body slip (usually
mixed in a blunger) is poured into plaster moulds and allowed to
form a layer, the cast, on the inside walls of the mould.
