Midterms Nagel Ceramics Vocab

Foot

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

Dry Foot

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

Matte

The non-glossy surface quality of a completely fired glaze

Stamping

An embossed or intaglio impression can be used to build up a pattern on clay

Boss

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

Sprig

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

Needle

A fine awl for cutting clay

Rib

A wooden or metal tool for smoothing or assisting in the throwing of a pot on the wheel.

"Pricker"

What is the American term for a needle?

Older potters used a bone

How did the rib get its name?

Sponge Stick

A natural or polyester sponge fastened to the end of a dowel or stick

Spatula tool

A tool with a flattened, curved and rounded end

Absorbing surplus water from pots during throwing

What is a sponge stick used for?

Designing and trimming excess fat off of a spinning form on the potters wheel

What is a spatula tool used for?

Trimming tool

The only essential feature is a short firm cutting edge which can be held at a right angle to the rotating pot

T-tools

What is another name for trimming tools?

Clay

A compound of decomposed and altered feldspathic rock

Aluminum, non-plastics like quartz, and organic matter

What does clay consist of?

Porcelain Clay

Pale body of primary clay with a distinctive ring when struck

Stoneware clay

Secondary clays that are not as fine grained as other clay bodies

Absorption

The capacity of a material to soak up liquid

Shrinkage

Contraction of the clay or glaze in either drying or firing

Slip

A suspension of clay in water

Grog

Fires clay that has been crushed in granules

It can be added to clay to increase strength, control drying, and reduce shrinkage

What does grog do?

Plasticity

The quality of clay that allows it to be easily shaped and maintain its form

Leather-hard

The condition of raw clay when most of the moisture has evaporated leaving it still soft enough to be carved or joined to other pieces

Bone dry

The condition of unfired clay that has no assorted moisture other than natural humidity. It is ready to bisque fire

Bisque ware

Clay that has been fired once, unglazed

Blowout

The explosion of clay in the kiln

The sudden escape of steam resulting from rapid heating of thick clay or the presence of impurities

How does a blowout happen?

Blistering

Air bubbles appearing in a glaze after a fast firing

Wedging

The process of kneading plastic clay with the fingers and heel of the hands in a spiral motion

It forces out trapped air pockets and develops a uniform texture or mixture of the clay

What does wedging do?

Pinch technique

A hand building method of construction where a ball of clay in the plastic state is repeatedly pinched and turned between the thumb and four fingers to create a small pot of bowl

Coil technique

A hand building method of construction which utilizes rolls of clay or coil rope in the plastic state to build up walls that are then joined together either internally or externally

Slab technique

A hand building method of construction using clay in the leather hard state that utilizes flat pieces of clay that must be joined together. Similar to creating a structure with wooden boards

Throwing technique

A hand forming method of construction where a ball of clay is hollowed out on a revolving wheel head.

A change from women to men potters

What does the change over from built forms to wheel pots correspond with?

Score

To scratch the surface of something to make it rough. When done properly two pieces may be joined together to make one

Hand building

The forming of ceramics without a wheel

Pinch, coil, slab

What are 3 types of hand building?

Damp box

A cabinet in which unfinished clay objects are stored to slow their drying

Plastic wrap

Other than a damp box, what else can be used to keep clay damp?

Kiln

A furnace for firing ceramic products. Essentially a box of refractory bricks, into or around which heat is introduced either by combustion or by radiant heat

Pug mill

A machine with paddle gear for grinding and mixing plastic clay. The clay is mixed within the barrel and forced forward through the narrowing channel

Bench wheel

A small portable turntable used for rotating pottery in any state (except slip) in order to work on or decorate pottery.

Banding wheel, because it is used to apply bands of color or texture

What is another name for the bench shell? Why?

Slab roller

A large piece of equipment that allows the artist to flatten out clay evenly throughout.

The old technique of using sticks or boards and a kitchen rolling pin

What does a slab roller replace?