Vocab Quiz #3

Question 1

Rib

Answer 1

A curved tool made of wood, metal, or plastic used for shaping, scraping, or smoothing clay objects.

Question 2

Short

Answer 2

Clay that is not plastic. Cracks will form in handling after brief manipulation.

Question 3

Slab Roller

Answer 3

A mechanical devise for rolling out slabs to a set, consistent thickness.

Question 4

Stains

Answer 4

Commercially processed and refined raw chemicals yielding ceramic stains offer a wide range of shades for coloring clays and glazes. They are generally more color stable than oxides.

Question 5

Stilts

Answer 5

Triangular supports with either clay (for low-fire) or heat-resistant metal points ( for low- or high-fire), are used to support pieces of glazed pottery during the glaze firing. They support the ear above the shelves to keep the glass from sticking the wear to the shelf. Small stilt marks can be filed, sanded, or ground smooth.

Question 6

Stoneware

Answer 6

A type of clay body fired to a temperature at which the body becomes vitrified, dense, and nonabsorptive but not translucent. Natural stoneware clay is usually brownish in color because of the presence of iron, but there are formulated white stoneware bodies. Usually matures at temperatures above 2102/1200 degrees.

Question 7

Test tiles

Answer 7

Small tiles made of clay used to test clay bodies in the kiln or to test glazes on a specific clay body.

Question 8

Throwing

Answer 8

Forming objects on the potter’s wheel using a clay body with plastic qualities.

Question 9

Undercut

Answer 9

A negative space in a solid form, creating an overhang. Casting a form with undercutting requires a multipart mold in order to release the mold from the cast.

Question 10

Underfire

Answer 10

To fire clay or glaze- accidentally or deliberately - to a point below its maturing point. Underfiring can turn a normally glossy glaze into a matt surface.

Question 11

Underglaze

Answer 11

Any coloring material used under a glaze. The color can be provided by oxides or by commercially prepared glaze and clay body stains.

Question 12

Vitreous

Answer 12

Pertaining to or having the nature of glass. In ceramics, a vitreous glaze or clay body had been fired to a dense, hard, and non-absorbant condition. High-fire glaze vitrify and combine with the glassy particles that form in the high-fire as it approaches vitrification. This results in a glaze that is united with the clay body as compared to a low-fire glaze that merely coats the surface of the fired clay.

Question 13

Warping

Answer 13

Changes in the form of a clay body. Warping of wear can occur during drying or firing if the walls are built unevenly or if drying or firing is uneven, or ware is improperly supported during firing.