Ceramic II Terms

Vocabulary flashcards generated from Marg Dusseau's Ceramic II terms lecture notes.

Bat

A flat slab or disc attached to a pottery wheel head to support clay during throwing and removal.

Belly

The widest, outermost convex curve on the body of a vessel.

Bottle Form

A narrow-necked ceramic vessel with a wider body designed to hold liquids.

Caliper

A measuring tool with adjustable curved arms used to measure inside and outside dimensions.

Centering

The crucial step in wheel throwing of aligning clay perfectly in the midolle of rotating wheel head using hard Pressure.

Cheese hard

A stage of clay dryness slightly softer than leather hard, where the clay holds shape but remains workable and easy to trim

Chittering

Rhythmic chatter marks or texture left on a pots surface caused by a flexible trimming tool bouncing against clay that is too dry or turning quickly.

Chuck

A specialized ceramics form or cylinder placed on the wheel to hold inverted, narrow-necked pot's during bottom, trimming.

Combing

A decorative technique of dragging a multi-toothed comb-like tool across wet slip or clay to create parallel lined textures.

Coning

The process of squeezing clay up into a cone shape and pressing it back down during centering to homogenize the clay body and remove air bubbles.

Counter change

A design principle where colors, textures or forms invert or alternate across adjustment areas to create visual contrast.

Crawling

A glaze defect where glaze pulls back from the clays surface dunng firing, leaving bare patches of exposed bisque.

Dog's teeth

Triangular or ragged tearing along the edges of extruded or slab-cut clay caused by dull blades, dry clay or uneven force.