Terms

Question 1

The first firing a pot undergoes to prepare it for glazing

Answer 1

BISQUE

Question 2

Air dried clay that how not been fired that is completely dry to touch. Clay is highly fragile at this stage

Answer 2

BONE DRY

Question 3

AL2O3 2SiO2 2H2O

Answer 3

decomposition of granite creates clay.

Question 4

____ is a mineral with a plate (platelet) like structure; it is these plates that when lubricated with water, slide against each other to form the plastic mass we know as _____.

Answer 4

CLAY

Question 5

“____” clays are those found close to the area of Kaolinizationan hence the purest (Kaolin or China Clays).

Answer 5

PRIMARY CLAYS

Question 6

“____” clays are those moved by water away from the site of Kaolinization and get progressively more plastic and less pure (Ball clays, Fire clays, Earthenwares and Marls)

Answer 6

SECONDARY CLAYS

Question 7

A clay designed for a special purpose. It is created by blending different clays or by adding to clays other materials, such as feldspar and silica in order to produce a desired workability, maturing temperature or finished result.

Answer 7

CLAY BODY

Question 8

a method of hand building a form using long rolled out or extruded snake-like lengths.

Answer 8

COILING

Question 9

Pyrometric _____ are composed of clay and glaze material, designed to melt and bend at specific temperatures. _____ are placed inside the kiln in front of a small peep hold in order to observe the correct temperature in the kiln.

Answer 9

CONES

Question 10

A type of kiln in which the hot gases, after rising upwards on entering the chamber, are drawn downwards through the ware before escaping through and opening at the bottom of the kiln.

Answer 10

DOWNDRAFT

Question 11

The process in which clay converts to ceramic. It involves heat of at least 1100 degrees F at which the chemically bonded water in clay is driven off to be changed into stone-like material. The clay can no longer be recycled after the ______.

Answer 11

FIRING

Question 12

A substance, which causes or promotes melting

Answer 12

FLUX

Question 13

____ is clay that has not been fired.

Answer 13

GREENWARE

Question 14

Ground up clay that provides texture, opens the clay body to help in uniform drying and cuts down shrinkage in clay bodies.

Answer 14

GROG

Question 15

A glass layer or coating that fuses to a clay/ceramic piece during firing. _____ are mixed up of carious minerals, oxides and other additives into a slurry that is applied to bisqueware or greenware in a number of ways.

Answer 15

GLAZE

Question 16

All glazes must contain:

Answer 16

glass-forming component (silica), a fluxing componentt to help the glaze melt at certain temperature, and a stiffener (alumina) to help keep the glaze from running off the pot.
May also contain colorants and opacifiers

Question 17

An insulated box heated to fire ceramic ware

Answer 17

KILN

Question 18

A stage in the drying process when clay is pliable but strong enough to hold a shape and/or bend slightly without cracking. still damp enough to be joined to other pieces of clay with slip. IT is an ideal state for trimming pots or carving

Answer 18

LEATHER HARD

Question 19

A firing where there is no combustion occurring. This type of firing usually occurs in an electric kiln.

Answer 19

OXIDATION

Question 20

A method of forming clay be gently squeezing it between your thumb and fingers.

Answer 20

PINCHING

Question 21

A low temperature firing technique invented by the 16th century Japanese potters. Evolved into a firing process where red hot pieces are pulled from the kiln and placed in a lidded bin filled with shredded newspaper or sawdust. The glazes are dramatically altered by the reduction atmosphere in the lidded bins.

Answer 21

RAKU

Question 22

A situation where more fuel is introduced into the kiln that it is able burn with the available oxygen, or oxygen is limited (reduced, due to this deficiency, the flame pulls oxygen molecules out of the clay bodies and glazes, changing their character.

Answer 22

REDUCTION

Question 23

A flattened piece of clay used to build ceramic forms

Answer 23

SLAB

Question 24

A fluid suspension of clay and warer

Answer 24

SLIP

Question 25

Using a potter’s wheel to create a clay form

Answer 25

THROWING

Question 26

A colored slip meant to be applied under a clear (or no glaze). _____ are formulated to have low drying shrinkage so they may be used on greenware and/or bisqueware

Answer 26

UNDERGLAZE