Sculpture/Pottery Test

Vocab

Plastic clay

clay used in a workable condition. (again)

Slip

clay mixed with water to produce liquid (liquid suspension).

Erosion

the breakdown of rocks.

Leatherhard clay

clay that is dry enough to hold shape, yet moist enough to be trimmed, carved, or scored. (Cracks when trying to change shape).

Stoneware

high-fired ware with a slight or no absorbency.

Porcelain

a translucent white clay body.

China

general term applied to a thin, translucent type of ware.

Bat

thick plate that fits onto the pottery wheel head.

Bisque

unglazed ware which has had a preliminary firing.

Chuck

as applied to trimming, a support for pots which would otherwise be unstable, such as bottles with narrow necks.

Cone

used inside kilns to tell temperature.

Damp Box/Cabinet

airtight cupboard where pots can be stored to prevent further drying or to equalize their moisture content.

Dipping

applying glaze or slip to the body by immersing the piece and shaking off excess glaze.

Firing

the process of heating pots in a kiln to specific.

Foot

low pedestal that can be trimmed into a base of a leather-hard pot.

Greenware

"Bone dry" pots (very dried out clay) ready for bisque firing.

Kiln

an oven used for making pottery.

Mold

A form used to shape clay, where a slab is pressed over it or slip is poured in, to make an object.

Pyrometer

Digital version of Pyrometric cones; an instrument for measuring heat of high temperature.

Score

to scratch a leather-hard pot in order to securely attach other pieces of clay.

Short Clay

clay that is not plastic enough for easy throwing.

Oxide

the colorant in clay bottles and glazes: mostly metallic, such as cobalt, iron, or chrome oxide.

Oxidation Firing

firing pots in a kiln with an angle amount of oxygen.

Rib

tool used to aid in shaping the pot.

Raku

japanese/Korean low-firing process done in a pit; used for tea ceremonies.

Slab

Flat section of clay

Terra Cotta

low-fired earthenware.

Throwing

the process of centering, opening, coning, and pulling clay into finished form on the potter’s wheel

Trimming

smoothing or shaping the base of a pot in leatherhard state.

Vitrification

act of becoming vitreous (hard, glass like).

Porosity

Measure of space in a material. Used to prevent the escape of water.

Pug Mill

A machine for mixing clay and recycling clay.

Needle

A sharp pointed tool used for cutting clay.

Bone China

A hard, translucent white clay body originally produced in England.

Bone Dry

Dried and completely ready for bisque firing (fragile).

Calipers

a tool used to measure the diameter of a pot. Used for fitting of lids.

Closed Form

A form similar to a bottle but has no openings.

Collaring

Constricting the neck of a bottle after it has been thrown and your hand has been removed from the inside. Performed by encircling bottle with thumb, index, and second fingers of both hands, pressing inward, and slowly sliding upward.

Crawling

A glaze fault; separation of the glaze coating during firing, causing unglazed areas to be exposed.

Engobe

White or colored clay slip used to decorate pots at leatherhard state.

Fat Clay

A very plastic and throwable clay

Firebrick

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

Flange

A narrow ledge at the rim of the pot for seating a lid.

Fuse

To melt under heat.

Glaze

A thin glassy surface coating applied to a pot to decorate it or seal the pores.

Kiln Furniture

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

Lead Glaze

A low temperature glaze containing lead (toxic).

Matt Glaze

Needs to be slowly cooled; Glaze with a smooth, but non-shiny surface.

Opaque Glaze

When light cannot pass through a glaze but is reflected back from its surface.

Plaster of Paris

Powdered calcined gypsum, which, when re-combined with water, sets up into an absorebent solid. Used in pottery for throwing bats and for molds.

Plastic clay

Very throwable clay comprised by weight of 25% water and 75% clay.

Pottery, pots

Fired clay objects, usually made by hand.

Raku Tongs

Tongs used to handle raku ware.

Reduction Firing

A firing in which insufficient air is supplied to the kiln chamber, causing the oxides to change colors.

Relief

A sculptural form which projects from a background.

Shrinkage

Contraction (becoming smaller) of clay during drying and firing.

Silica

Also called "flint"

Silicosis

A lung disease caused by clay dust inhaled over a long period of time.

Stacked

A loaded kiln that is ready for heating

Stain

Any oxide or prepared pigment used for coloring bodies, slips, or glazes

Translucent

Transmitting light, but not transparent

Vitreous

Glassy or containing glassy materials; Vitrified bodies have low porosity

Warping

Deformation that can take place at any state of the making, drying, and firing of a pot.

Wax Resist

A pottery method where wax is brushed on to block glaze, engobe, or stain from sticking, leaving a design

Density

A property of hardness or glassiness in fired ware

Earthenware

Soft, porous, opaque, and fired below 1,200 degrees C

Iron

Makes some clay red

Crazing

A network of fractures on glaze caused by differences in contraction between body and glaze during cooling

Banding Wheel

A revolving wheel head which sits on a pedestal base. It is turned by hand and used for finishing or decorating pottery.

Casting

The process of pouring a liquid, either slip or plaster of Paris, into mold and allowing to harden to Saude.

Ceramics

Projects made from clay and fired.