Ceramics Midterm Review Flashcards

What piece of equipment grinds and mixes clay using paddle gear?

Pug mill

The process of kneading clay to remove air pockets and create uniform texture is called…

Wedging

A small portable turntable used to decorate or rotate pottery is a…

Bench wheel

A cabinet or container used to slow the drying of clay is called a…

Damp box

A furnace made of refractory bricks, used for firing ceramic products, is a…

Kiln

Which tool allows artists to flatten clay evenly, replacing the old method of rolling pins and boards?

Slab roller

To scratch the surface of clay to help two pieces stick together is to…

Score

Creating ceramics without a wheel, using pinch, coil, or slab methods…

Hand building

Forming a pot on a revolving wheel head by hollowing out a clay ball…

Throwing technique

Building with flat pieces of leather-hard clay, similar to constructing with wooden boards…

Slab technique

Using rolled robes of clay to build walls that are then joined…

Coil technique

Using the thumb and four fingers to shape the clay into a pot or another form…

Pinch technique

A ceramic piece is ready to fire when it is…

Bone dry

A decorated product of granite-type rock, chemically hydrous silicate of alumina, in the pure state is commonly called…

Clay

The first thing of clay pots to harden the body is known as…

Bisque firing

The state in which clay can be manipulated and still maintain its shape without cracking or slumping is called…

Plastic

The contraction of clay or glaze in either the drying or firing process is commonly referred to as…

Shrinkage

Absorption is the capacity of a material to…

Soak up liquid

The state of clay that is soft enough to carve, yet stiff enough to maintain a rigid shape known as…

Leather-hard

Clay that has been fired and crushed into granules, then added to plastic clay is called…

Grog

Which of the following is in the correct order of moisture content from wet to dry?

Slip, plastic, leather-hard, bone dry, bisque

To strengthen a clay body and help control drying, ___ can be added.

Leather hard clay

“Pricker” is the American name for this tool which is a fine awl for cutting clay and piercing.

Needle

It is the part of a ceramic pottery piece on which the main shape stands.

Foot

A natural or polyester sponge fastened to the end of a dowel or stick, and used for absorbing surplus water form pots during throwing.

Sponge stick

A base-relief or medallion made in a small press mold and stuck with slip onto a pottery surface.

Sprig

The non-glossy surface quality of a completely fired glaze.

Matte

The bottom of a pot that has been cleaned of all glaze before firing is called…

Dry foot

A wooden or metal tool for smoothing or assisting in the throwing of a pot on the wheel. The name was given to this tool because older potters used a bone for this purpose.

Rib

An embossed or intaglio impression that is used to build up a pattern on clay.

Stamp

An age-old decorative feature: a spherical hump traditionally formed by pressing from the inside of a pot but today more frequently applied to the outside. Embossing the act of applying the boss technique.

Boss

A tool with a flattened, curved and rounded end. The tool is used for designing and trimming excess fat off of a spinning form on the pottery.

Spatula tool

These tools have a short firm cutting edge, which can be held at a right-angle to rotating pot. Also called “T-tools”

Trimming tools

A pricker may be used to determined the thickness of the bottom of a pottery piece when it is on the wheel.

True

Unless instructed otherwise, you should always remove glaze from the bottom of a pottery piece before glaze firing.

True

A spatula tool is used to alter the shape of a bisque pottery piece.

False

Ribs are used mainly to cut clay.

False