Ceramics

Front 1

BAT or BATT

Back 1

Ridged flat disk of wood, plastic or plaster placed on the wheelhead. When finished throwing your items the BAT is just removed off the wheelhead to prevent damage to the piece.

Front 2

BISQUE FIRE

Back 2

A preliminary firing of unglazed ware fired between 1200 and 1940 degrees fahrenheit. The firing prepares the ware for glaze by chemically removing all the water from the clay. Usually fired at either cone 06-04.

Front 3

BISQUE WARE

Back 3

Pieces that have gone the the initial bisque fire. Ware emerges for the bisque kilm with all traces of water fired off and their particles only partially fused. This partial fusion allows porousness for glaze application.

Front 4

BURNISHING

Back 4

the polishing of the surface of clay by rubbing with a polished stone, hand, plastic ect. burnish may be loss if fired above cone 06.

Front 5

CALIPERS

Back 5

adjustable tool for measuring inside/outside diameters as in making lids.

Front 6

CENTERING

Back 6

Critical step in throwing, the clay is formed into a symmetrical cone before making the hole for the pot.

Front 7

CHINA PAINT, LUSTER

Back 7

Overgrazes applied after a work is glazed and then fired to a low temperature(cone 017-023). Luster are metallics ie. gold, silver, mother of pearl ect.

Front 8

CLAY

Back 8

earthy mixtures created by erosion. When moist they can take on any shape and when fired become extremely durable and permanent/ There are five types of clay; Ball clay, Stoneware, Kaolin, Earthware, and Fire clays.

Front 9

CLAY BODY

Back 9

a combination of one or more plays and non-clay ingredients formulated to serve a specific purpose.

Earthen Ware; refers to low fire clay such as terra cotta or white talc clay. lot fire between 1600-1900 Degrees fahrenheit.

Stoneware;a clay body that is sense, impermeable and hard enough to resist scratching with a steel point. Both mid and high fire are workable, strong, dense and reliable. Fired between 1920-2100 degrees fahrenheit.

Porcelain; a various white wear of more or less translucency fired to cone 10 or higher.

Front 10

CONE

Back 10

Made out of ceramics materials formulated to bend at certain temperatures.

022 1112 F Dull Red China Paint,ceramic decals, Terra Sigillata

04 1940 F Low fire Bisque Glaze

06 2232 F Mid Range Stoneware Glaze.

010 2381 F White Hire Fire Stoneware/Porcelain

Front 11

FETTLING KNIFE

Back 11

Long tapered knife useful for trimming cast or pressing pieces, and for separating mold componets.

Front 12

FRIT

Back 12

Made of ceramic materials and added to glaze to help them flux(melt)

Front 13

GLAZE

Back 13

A ceramic glaze is essentially glass with additions of color and other ceramic materials. It differs from glass in that it expands less and contains more alumina. All glazes start as a mixture of oxides and minerals in water.

Front 14

GLAZE FIREING

Back 14

the second fire of a bisque piece that has had glaze applied to the surface. The glaze firing can be anywhere from 1074 to 2595 degrees fahrenheit.

Front 15

GROG

Back 15

Clay that has been fired and then ground up. Grog can come in many particle sizes from fine to corse. Its used to reduce the shrinkage in clay bodies, add a gritty, rustic texture called "tooth" and aids even drying. This prevents defects such as cracking, crow feet patterning and lamination.

Front 16

GREENWARE

Back 16

Unfired pottery, the three stages of wetness for greenware are classified as wet, leather hard and bone dry. we try not to bisque fire until they are bone dry.

Front 17

KILN

Back 17

A heating chamber usually made of firebrick or ceramic fiber for hardening and maturing clay and glazes. Fuels that usually power kilns are electricity, glass or wood.

Front 18

KILN FURNITURE

Back 18

consists of implements (shelves, posts, stilts) stacked to make full use of a kiln's capacity.

Front 19

MAJOLICA

Back 19

Majolica is a kind of glaze on glaze painting. the ware is first covered with a base of opaque white majolica glaze which forms the background for decoration. Over this coating is applied color pigments mixed with frit. When the pieces are fired, the decoration melts into and fuses with the background glaze.

Front 20

OXIDES/STAIN WASHES

Back 20

Oxides or stains added to water to create a flat surface wash for painting or covering a surface.

Front 21

MICA

Back 21

A shiny silicate mineral with a layered structure, found as minute scales in granite and other rocks, or as crystals. Ground mica is used in what is called micaeous clay giving a glittery quality to the surface.

Front 22

POTTERY

Back 22

name the parts of the pot

Front 23

RAKU

Back 23

Pottery technique origination in the 16th century Japan probably by koran potter. When Raku fire in the US, pots are pulled out of a kiln hot read and put into sawdust or other combustible materials to mother the oxygen and create a carbon rich atmosphere.

Front 24

RIB

Back 24

Wide, flat handheld tool used to shape, smooth and or scrape clay surfaces; usually wood,rubber,plastic or metal, either rigid or flexible, with straight, curved or profiled edge.

Front 25

SGRAFFITO

Back 25

decoration win which slip or other coating is scratched or cut away to reveal the clay body underneath.

Front 26

SLIP

Back 26

slip is a catch all term referring to any clay suspended in water. This could mean clay and water mixture that we use like "glue" to attach any two pieces of clay or to a clay water and colorant mixture used to decorate leather-hard to dry ware.

Front 27

SLIP CASTING

Back 27

the creation of ceramic forms by casting slip in plaster molds.

Front 28

TERRA SIGILLATA

Back 28

Known as the first form of glaze but its actually a type of engobe or slip. Terra sigillata is made by separating the finer particles of a common clay and its spread on the ware in a thin cat and fired at a low temperature (cone 17). Its applied by dipping, painting or spraying dry ware that has been spritzed with water immediately prior to application.

Front 29

THROW

Back 29

To make a pot on the potter's wheel.

Front 30

TRIMMING

Back 30

at the leather-hard stage, removal of access clay from a piece, using a variety of sharp cutting tools. Often used by turning a pot upside-down on the wheel at leather-hard stage and trimming a round "foot" in the bottom.

Front 31

UNDERGLAZE

Back 31

refers to commercially made colorant, clay and water and may be applied to bone dry, leather hard, or bisque ware. Most formulas contain oxide and a frit which helps them adhere to the clay.

Front 32

UNDER GLAZE PENCIL

Back 32

underglaze pigments in pencil form, good for making wares and test tiles. and for "pencil drawn" decorative affects.

Front 33

WEDGING

Back 33

Process of kneading or cutting and throwing the clay whith hands to remove air bubbles and ensure and air free form.