Ceramic Vocabulary

These are some general key terms to know when discussing Ceramic Art.

__https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gIb4XMQccbI9N04oa_6OggH66OdqeTQhkHbPe6JHlhg/edit__Air pockets: Enclosed air spaces within clay that must be removed for they may cause ceramic  work to explode or crack.

Bisque ware: Clay that has been fired once, at a low temperature. Clay is hard but porous and  absorbent.

Bone dry: No visible moisture and no dampness to the touch. Clay is ready to be fired. Ceramics: Objects made of clay fired to a high temperature, over 1550 degrees F.

Clay: Fine grained earth materials formed by the decomposition of igneous rocks; plastic when  wet; strong when dry; and rock hard when exposed to red heat (fired).

Coils: Rolled, snake-like ropes of clay, joined together to build pots.

Embossment: Raised surface design on a clay piece.

Firing: To heat in a kiln (brick oven). Firing is a term used for “cooking” the clay. Form: Three-dimensional shape and structure of an object.

Glaze: A combination of miniscule clay and glass particles mixed with water; applied to bisque  ware before firing. During the firing process this applied mixture adheres to the form, giving it a  hard, durable surface. Glazes can be colored, opaque, clear, translucent, or matte.

Greenware: Unfired clay ready or nearly ready for firing.

Hand-building: Construction processes that include pinching, coiling or building with slabs.

Incising: Surface  decoration  made  by  scratching,  cutting,  or  carving  lines  into  clay  at  various  depths.

Inlay: Surface decoration created by filling an impression in a clay surface with another clay or  slip.

Kiln: A furnace or oven built of heat-resistant materials for firing pottery. Heat is produced by  electricity, propane, natural gas or wood.

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Leather Hard: Clay is too firm to bend yet soft enough to carve. It is the consistency of cheddar  cheese.

Pinch Pots: Starting with a ball of clay, the potter opens a hole with his thumb. Pinching the clay  between his thumb on the inside and fingers on the outside, a bowl shape is formed.

Plastic stage: Moist and elastic to the touch; clay that is easily manipulated.

Porcelain: A translucent, nonabsorbent body fired at high temperature. White and hard, it was  first developed in China during the 8th century.

Pottery: Pottery  is  one  of  the  oldest  art  forms  explored  by  mankind.  There  are  many  now extinct  cultures  throughout  the  world  that  did  not  use  written  language.  For  some  of  these  civilizations the only evidence of their daily lives comes in the form of pottery, which when left  behind  provides important archeological records.

Scoring: Scratching or roughing-up the clay surface; used in combination with brushed-on slip,  scoring is a preparation step for joining two or more separate clay pieces together.

Seam: The crack formed where two pieces of clay are joined.

Slabs: Rolled flat sections of clay. Wet slabs can be draped over or into forms or rolled around  cylindrical or square  forms. Slabs may be cut into shapes and joined  together using  the score  and slip method. This is most successful when slabs are dried to the leather-hard state.

Slip: Finely  ground  clay  particles mixed with water.  1) Used  for joining  two  pieces  of  clay;  2)  Brushed on (also called underglaze) for decorating purposes (3) May be squeezed or extruded  onto the surface for a raised effect. Slip may be colored.

Texture: The quality of a surface.

Three-dimensional: when all three dimensions (length, height, and width) can be touched and  felt.

Underglazes: Colored  slip  or  liquid  stain  applied  to  leather  hard  clay  or  bisque  ware,  then  coated with a clear glaze.

Ware: Pottery pieces in the raw, bisque, or glazed state.

Wedging: A kneading process, manipulating the clay to remove air bubbles, lumps, and excess  water.

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