Tools

Question 1

Fettling Knife

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Loop Tool

Answer 2

a special tool with a wooden handle and a wire loop at one or both ends, used for carving and hollowing out clay forms

Question 3

Kiln

Answer 3

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 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 4

Glaze

Answer 4

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 5

Bat

Answer 5

a plaster disk or slab for clay work

Question 6

Conditioning Coat

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Gloss

Answer 7

a shiny, glass-like finish

Question 8

Under Glaze

Answer 8

a color which is usually applied to greenware and in most cases is covered with a glaze

Question 9

Sponge

Answer 9

Usually refers to a natural sponge used for cleaning and decorating greenware. There are also synthetic sponges available for ceramics.