Vocab Quiz #2

Question 1

Glaze

Answer 1

Any vitreous coating that has been melted onto a clay surface by the use of heat. Made of fine-ground minerals that, when fired to a certain temperature, fuse unto a glassy coating. Glazes may be matt or glossy, depending on their components.

Question 2

Greenwear

Answer 2

UNfired pottery or sculpture

Question 3

Grog

Answer 3

Crushed or ground particles of fired clay graded in various sizes of particles. Added to the clay body to help drying, to add texture, and to reduce shrinkage and warpage.

Question 4

Kiln

Answer 4

A furnace or an oven built of heat-resistant materials for firing pottery or sculpture, sometimes referred to as a kil.

Question 5

Kiln furniture

Answer 5

Heat-resistant shelves, pots, and slabs that support the wear in the kiln during firing. Kiln shelves may warp in firing if they are not well supported.

Question 6

Leather hard

Answer 6

The condition of a clay body when much of the moisture has evaporated, and shrinkage has just ended, but the clay is not totally dry. Carving, burnishing, or joining slabs are often done at this stage,

Question 7

Maiolica

Answer 7

The Italian name for tin-glaze wear that was sent from Spain to Italy via the island of Majorca. Now a general term for any earthwear covered with a tin-lead glaze.

Question 8

Matt glaze

Answer 8

A glaze that has a dull, nonglossy finish due to its deliberate composition. Bariuam carbonate or alumina added to the glaze, along with a slow cooling, assists the formation of matt glazes.

Question 9

Mold

Answer 9

Any form that can be used to shape fluid plastic substances. In ceramics, usually the negative form from which pottery or sculpture can be cast by pouring or pressing methods using either liquid slip or damp clay. Molds can be made in one piece or in multiple sections.

Question 10

Overfire

Answer 10

To fire a clay body or glaze above it maturing point

Question 11

Oxidation (Oxidizing firing)

Answer 11

The firing of a kiln or open fire with complete combustion so that the firing atmosphere contains enough oxygen to allow the metals in the clays and glazes to produce their oxide colors. Electric kilns always produce oxidizing firings unless reducing materials are added.

Question 12

Plasticity

Answer 12

The ability of a damp clay body to yield under pressure without cracking and to retain the formed shape after the pressure is released.

Question 13

Primary Clay

Answer 13

Clay found in nature that was formed in place rather than transported by the action of water. Also called residual clay. Kaolin is a primary clay.

Question 14

Pyrometric cones

Answer 14

Small pyramids of ceramic materials formulated to bend over and melt at designated temperatures. Orton cones in the United States and Srgrt cones in England and Europe have different ranges. In addition to the brown and white Orton cones that range from cone 022 to cone 42 (for industrial use), there are now cones that contain color coding to avoid confusion.

Question 15

Raku

Answer 15

Originally a name used by a Japanese family that has made tea ceremony ware since the seventeenth century. Now refers to both the process of raku firing and to ware glazed in such a firing. Soft and porous, traditional raku ware was lead-glazed, placed in a red-hot kiln, and quickly withdrawn when the glaze melted. In the West, lead is now rarely used in raku glazes. Raku ware is often reduced after firing by burying it in straw, sawdust, paper or other combustible material, then covering it with an airtight lid to create a reducing atmosphere that aids in producing luster or opalescent colors.