Ceramics Vocab

Bat

A flat disc made out of plaster

Batch

A mixture of weighed materials such as a batch of glaze or slip or a clay body.

Banding Wheel

A revolving wheel head which sits on a pedestal base

Bisque

Pottery which has been fired once

Bisque Fire

First firing

Bone Dry

Completely air dried.

Burnishing

The ancient rubbing process of burnishing polishes the outside skin of a clay pot while greatly reducing its porosity.

Calipers

A tool used to measure the diameter of round forms.

Centering

Technique to move the clay in to a symmetrical rotating axis in the middle of a wheel head.

Ceramics

Objects made from clay that permanently retains their shape after being heated to specific temperatures.

Chuck

A piece used to aid the potter in trimming

Clay

A moist earth of decomposed rock; used in products such as pottery

Clay Body

A mixture of different types of clays and minerals for a specific ceramic purpose.

Coil

A piece of clay rolled like a rope

Compress

Pushing the clay down and together

Composite Pots

Pots that were thrown or hand built in separate pieces and then assembled.

Pyrometric Cone

A pyramid composed of clay and glaze

Crazing

The cracking of a glaze on a fired pot due to the glaze shrinking more than the clay body.

Crawling

A bare spot on a finished piece where oil or grease prevents the glaze from adhering.

Damper

A slab of refractory clay used to close or partially close the flue of a kiln.

Dry-Foot

To keep the foot or bottom of a pot free from glaze by waxing or removing the glaze.

Earthenware

A low fired clay body

Englobe

Colored clay slip used to decorate greenware or leather hard pieces before bisque firing.

Extrusion

Clay forced through a die to form uniform shapes.

Fettling Knives

Tools useful in cutting large lumps of clay

Fire

To heat a clay object in a kiln to a specific temperature.

Firebrick

An insulation brick used to hold the heat in the kiln and withstand high temperatures.

Firing Range

The range of temperature at which a clay becomes mature or a glaze melts.

Flux

A melting agent causing silica to change into a glaze.

Foot

Base of a ceramic form.

Frit

A glaze material derived from flux and silica which are melted together and reground into a fine powder.

Glaze

A thin coating of glass developed in clay ware by the fusion under heat of inorganic materials.

Glaze Firing

The final firing with glaze.

Gloss Glaze

A shiny reflective gloss.

Greenware

Unfired pottery

Grog

Fired clay ground to various mesh sizes.

Kiln

A furnace of refractory clay bricks for firing pottery and for fusing glass.

Kiln Furniture

Refractory posts and shelves used for stacking pottery in the kiln for firing.

Kiln Wash

Mixture of kaolin

Leather Hard

Stage of the clay between plastic and bone dry

Loop Tools

Tools with ribbons of wire for shaping and trimming ceramic objects.

Majolica

A low fire glazing technique involving applying an opaque tin glaze to earthenware.

Matt Glaze

A dull glaze surface

Mold

A plaster shape designed to pour slip cast into and let dry.

Maturing Point

The temperature at which the clay becomes hard and durable.

Needle Tool

Long heavy needles set into handles

Opaque Glaze

Non-transparent glaze that covers the clay or glaze below it.

Oxidation

Firing with a full supply of oxygen; electric kilns fire in oxidation.

Peephole

A small observation hole in the wall or door of a kiln.

Pinch

Manipulate clay with fingers in palm to a hollow shape.

Plasticity

The quality of clay which allows it to be manipulated into different shapes without cracking.

Porcelain

White stoneware made from clay prepared from feldspar

Potter's Wheel

A device with either a manual or electric rotating wheel head used to make pottery forms.

Pug

To mix.

Pug Mill

A machine for mixing clay and recycling clay.

Raku

An economical way of firing ware in reduction to achieve metallic and carbon effects.

Reduction

Firing with reduced oxygen in the kiln.

Rib

A rubber

Satin Glaze

A glaze with medium reflectance between matt and gloss.

Scoring

Edges of clay before joining them together with slip.

Sgraffito

Scratching design on pottery.

Slab

Pressed or rolled flat sections of clay used in hand building.

Slip

Clay mixed with water with a mayonnaise consistency.

Slurry

A thick slip.

Soaking

Maintaining a low steady heat in the early stages of firing.

Stacking

Load a kiln to hold the maximum number of pieces.

Stain

Oxide and water used as a colorant for bisque ware.

Stoneware

All ceramic ware fired between 2

Transparent Glaze

Transmits light clearly.

Terra Cotta

Red burning earthenware

Throwing

Creating ceramic shapes on the potter's wheel.

Vitrification

The firing of pottery to the point of glassification.

Wedging

A method of kneading clay to make it homogenous by cutting and rolling.