Ms. Morris
Ceramics I & II
CERAMICS VOBULARY
Air Bubbles- pockets of air trapped inside of clay. Air bubbles often cause explosions in the kiln.
Bisque - Clay that has been fired once
Bisque Fire-- The process of firing unglazed clay to a low temperature to harden the clay. During this firing
at slow speed, all moisture and gases are taken out of the clay body. Ideal temperature to fire to is around
1940-1945 degrees.
Bone dry - No visible moisture - no dampness to touch - Clay is ready to be fired
Ceramics - The art of making all things made out of clay.
Clay - A naturally occurring aluminum silicate composed primarily of fine-grained minerals. Clay comes
from the earth!
Coil - Rolling out wet clay into rope like pieces. Pieces can then be stacked to form and build a piece like a
cup or vase.
Cone - A ceramic pyramid that melts at a known temperature and is used to indicate the
temperature of a kiln.
Design—to plan out an idea, something with a goal or purpose
Earthenware - A low-fire clay. Porous and not waterproof. To be functional, It must be glazed.
Engobe - A white or colored thin layer of clay used to decorate a bisque pot. It may or may not be glazed over.
Fire (verb)—to cook or bake clay in a kiln. Low fire cooks at over 1000 degrees F.
Foot—an addition to the bottom of a vessel to help raise the vessel off the ground.
Glaze - Noun - A ceramic paint which becomes smooth and glass-like when fired to maturity.
Glaze - Verb - The act of applying ceramic paint.
Glaze Firing - Typically the second firing of a ceramic clay body after it has been Bisque Fired. The
temperature for the Glaze Firing will depend on the clay body and the glaze.
Greenware - Unfired clay ready or nearly ready for firing. It is very fragile.
HandBuilding Clay - Sculpting any clay body by hand.
Incise - Indenting into the wet clay; a decoration technique in which lines are carefully drawn into
a clay surface.
Kiln - The furnace in which ceramics are fired. Kilns can be electric, natural gas, wood, coal, fuel oil
Kiln Wash - A mixture of china clay and flint in water solution used to coat kiln shelves to protect them from dripping
glaze.
Kiln Shelves - The shelves inside a kiln that ceramic greenware is stacked on in the kiln. The shelves must be
coated with kiln wash to prevent glazed pottery from sticking to the shelf.
Leather Hard - A damp condition of the clay when it is too firm to bend yet soft enough to be carved or
joined to another piece of clay.
Line—a type of mark that has length and width
Lip—a raised area built up with clay, usually around the rim of a vessel. or propane.
Pattern—a repeated decorative design
Peephole - A hole or holes on a kiln that is usually covered with a peephole plug. Can be looked
through to see ware or cones.
Pinch Pots - Starting with a ball of clay the potter opens a hole into the ball and forms a bowl shape
through a combination of moving and pinching the clay.
Pottery - Pots, dishes, and other articles made of earthenware or baked clay. One of the first forms of art
by mankind dating back to 10,000 BC.
Radial Symmetry—symmetry around a central axis; a design based on a circle with a design extending
from the center that is the same on every side
Relief- sculpture consisting of shapes carved on a surface so as to stand out from the surrounding
background; any work in which the figures project from a supporting background
Reconstitute – to bring a material back to its original state, usually by adding a liquid
Score - To rough the surface of the wet clay in order to attach another piece of wet clay.
Sgraffito-a form of decorating made by scratching through a surface to reveal a lower layer of contrasting
color; typically done in ceramics using slip before firing
Slab – a thick, flat and even piece of clay; can be made by using a rolling pin or a slab roller
Slip - A liquid form of clay typically used to help attach wet pieces of clay together while sculpting
Stain-Water or oil based paint – not fired. Usually applied to Bisque.
Symbol—a thing that represents or stands for something else.
Texture—the way something feels or the way something looks like it will feel.
Under Glaze- A colored liquid clay that is applied to Greenware and sometimes Bisque, then coated
with Clear Glaze.
Wax Resist- a decorative technique, patterns or designs are created by brushing a wax medium over an
area of clay, slip or glaze to resist the final glaze application when the wax is dry.
Wedging - Method of kneading clay to get rid of air bubbles in the clay.