Ceramics

Front 1

Wedge

Back 1

to knead or mix clay by cutting/rolling or pounding; removes air bubbles

Front 2

leather hard

Back 2

clay which is dried somewhat but which is still damp enough to be joined to other pieces with slip or carved

Front 3

green ware

Back 3

clay pieces that have not been fired

Front 4

bone dry

Back 4

the condition of unfired clay when it is as dry as possible prior to firing

Front 5

kiln

Back 5

a furnace for firing clay products

Front 6

pyrometric cone

Back 6

a device for measuring heat in the kiln

Front 7

pinch pot

Back 7

pinching a ball of clay inside and out ro form a cup

Front 8

coil building

Back 8

using snake-like forms to build clay walls

Front 9

slab building

Back 9

rolling clay into flat forms, cutting and standing them up to create boxes cylinders, sculptures, etc.

Front 10

extruder

Back 10

a lever system for pushing clay into a variety of forms

Front 11

throwing

Back 11

forming clay on a potter's wheel

Front 12

slip or slurry

Back 12

a mixture of clay and water used as a binder/glue

Front 13

colored slip

Back 13

wet colored clay used to decorate

Front 14

soft slab

Back 14

making a piece with a slab before it is leather hard and without corners

Front 15

slip trailing

Back 15

decorating clay by squeezing slip out of a bottle

Front 16

sqrafitto

Back 16

painting slip on clay and drawing through the slip so that the clay body shows

Front 17

stencil

Back 17

using damp paper towels as a stencil with slip or glaze

Front 18

glaze

Back 18

a compound of minerals that is applied to the surface of greenware or bisqued ware and that forms a glassy coating when fired

Front 19

bisque fire

Back 19

firing dried clay pieces for the first time in a kiln

Front 20

glaze fire

Back 20

firing bisqued pieces that have been glazed

Front 21

primary clays

Back 21

clays that are found in the ground at their source of origin

Front 22

peephole

Back 22

a hole in a kiln chamber, covered with a removable plug, through which one can observe the pyrometric cones, color or atmosphere inside the kiln

Front 23

earthenware

Back 23

pottery fired to below the cone2; usually red and porous

Front 24

kiln furniture

Back 24

heat-resistance posts, shelves, and other devices upon which ware is supported in a kiln during firing

Front 25

kiln sittter

Back 25

a kiln mechanism that automatically turns off the kiln when a small pyrometric cone in it slumps

Front 26

kiln wash

Back 26

a refactory coating applied to kiln shelves to prevent excess glaze from fusing ware to the shelves