STAGES OF CLAY

1. Slip- watered down clay in a muddy form, used to join clay together
2. Plastic- workable stage of clay, can recycle and can join to other pieces
3. Leather-hard- stiff and will hold its shape, can be joined to other pieces and is easy to carve into, can be recycled
4. Greenware- also called bone dry, can be carved into but is very fragile and breaks easily, can still be recycled
5. Bisqueware- fired once in kiln, cannot be recycled, is prepared for glazing
6. Glazeware- has undergone a second firing and can not be recycled, (earthenware is still porous though stoneware is now vitreous)

BASIC CLAY TERMINOLOGY AND GUIDELINES

Wedging- Wedging eliminates lumps and air bubbles, dryies the clay, homogenizes or makes the clay consistent, and organizes the clay particles to lay in the same direction for strength.

Thickness- Clay work should have uniform thickness throughout the form’s walls and should not be too thick or too thin because cracking and breaking can occur. The ideal thickness for our drying time should be about 1⁄4” – 1⁄2”.

Firings- Clay is fired in a kiln. Usually a piece a clay will be fired twice, once loading in greenware and firing the kiln to create bisqueware,  and a second time loading bisqueware after applying glaze to create glazeware.

Glaze- Glaze is the liquid substance painted onto a bisqueware piece that when fired makes the piece stronger, vitreous (glassy and nonporous) and colorful. It is usually composed of silcas and metal oxides.

Score/Slip/Blend-When connecting two pieces of clay together it is essential to score and slip the edges then blend the connecting pieces of clay together so that the pieces do not crack or fall apart. Sometimes it may be necessary to add filling or small amounts of clay that are thoroughly pushed into and blended with a larger piece of clay to add strength often at joints.

Foot- base of the pottery piece, where the pot sits or rests on the table

Body- the belly of the pot or form

Shoulder- where a piece of pottery may curve back in above the belly or main body of a pot

Neck-smallest point falls between the rim and shoulder

Lip or Rim- this is the top of your form or vessel where the opening often is

HAND BUILDING TECHNIQUES

1. Pinching- pinching clay into a hollow form 

2. Coiling- rolling ropes or snakes of clay

3. Slab building- large pieces of clay are flattened to an even thickness

4. Molding- using hump, hammock or drape mold, clay is formed over or inside a preexisting form.

5. Weaving- coils or slabs are woven and intertwined together to create a larger form

6. Scuplting- block of clay is carved, pushed, pulled, added to  then often hollowed out after the form has been created
 

THROWING

Throwing is often the term used for the process of creating forms with the use of the potters wheel. General steps to throwing a pot are...

1. Centering- Moving the clay to a centered lump with no wiggle

2. Opening the center- Finding the center of the form and pressing an opening straight down leaving approximately 1/2 inch of clay at the bottom

3. Pulling the walls- Lifting and thinning the walls of the pot to form the piece

4. Trimming- After the clay dries slightly, you will flip the piece over, recenter, and trim a foot