CERAMICS VOCABULARY LIST
1. air-pockets: Air which is trapped inside the body of the clay. This expands and
can create explosion in the kiln. Wedging clay before use is a good way to avoid
this problem.
2. base: A slab or platform on which clay is handled; a circular device attached to
the wheel-head.
3. bisque: Unglazed clay, fired once at a low temperature. Ceramic piece will not
blow up in firing.
4. bisque firing: The first firing of unglazed ware; this removes all moisture from
the clay and prepares it for further steps like glazing. The approximate
temperature of this firing is 1815 F.
5. bone dry: The condition of unfired clay when it is as dry as possible prior to
firing.
6. centering: The act of aligning the clay on the potter’s wheel in order to proceed
with forming and shaping.
7. ceramics: The art of making things of clay. Clay is an ancient tradition.
8. clay: A decomposed granite-type rock. To be classified as clay, the decomposed
rock must have fine particles so that it will be plastic (see definition below).
Clays contain impurities which affect color and firing temperatures.
9. clay body: A mixture of clay and other materials selected to produce particular
characteristics to meet the ceramist’s needs.
10. coil: A long roll of clay.
11. coil construction: Rope like pieces of clay that are stacked to form a wall and
build the object. This technique is one of the most commonly used hand-building
methods. The size of the coils can vary but must be slipped and scored into place
or one side in blended to create strength.
12. fire: To bake in a kiln. Firing is a term used for “cooking” the clay.
13. foot: A slightly raised area or ring on the bottom of a pot.
14. form: Three-dimensional shape and structure of an object.
15. glaze: A compound of materials that is applied to the surface of greenware or
bisqued ware and that forms a glassy coating when fired.
16. glaze fire: Much hotter than a bisque fire. Firing to a temperature at which
glaze melts to form a glasslike surface.
17. glaze firing: Typically the second firing that reaches temperatures at which
glazes will melt. The approximate temperature of this firing 2300.
18. gloss: A shiny surface.
19. greenware: Pottery that has not fired. It is bone-dry, a state in which clay forms
are the most fragile.
20. grog: Ground fired clay that is added to a clay body to reduce shrinkage and
warping.
21. handbuilding: One of the oldest craft techniques in which objects are
constructed entirely by hand.
22. incising: Indenting a line into a flat surface.
23. kiln: A furnace built for firing ceramic ware. It is built of refractor brick &
heated by electricity, gas, oil or wood to temperatures from 1500 F to 2340 F.
Ceramics Vocabulary List
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24. kiln furniture: Pillars and stilts which hold pieces during the 2nd firing.
Shelves to make various levels within the kiln.
25. leather hard or cheese hard: The condition of a clay body that has dried
somewhat but can still be carved or joined. Hard to bend & soft enough to be
carved.
26. matte: Not shiny.
27. overglaze: A glassy coating that has been melted onto a ceramic surface. It is
used to decorate the piece and seal the clay surfaces.
28. plastic: The stage in which clay is soft, pliable, and moldable, versus dry and
brittle.
29. pottery: Pottery was one of the first art forms explored by mankind. There are
many extinct cultures throughout the world who did not leave behind any
written record of their existence. For some of these civilizations the only
evidence of their daily lives comes in the form of pottery. Some pots were for
daily use and some were for ceremonial purposes. Some cultures buried their
pots with their dead, and some had huge garbage dumps where broken pots
ended up. Pottery and other forms of ceramics have left behind an important
archaeological record.
30. pyrometric cones: Pyrometric Cones are designed to melt or bend after
reaching a specific temperature (depending on the rate of rise). The original
large sized pyrometric cones are used in a cone holder on the kiln shelf for
visual firing, testing or monitoring of the temperature in the kiln. Small Cones
are used where space is at a premium.
31. scoring: Roughing up of the surface of clay for joining two pieces together.
32. slab: Clay which has been made flat by using a rolling pin.
33. slab construction: Hand-building technique in which flat pieces of clay are
joined (clay is flattened and thinned with a rolling pin or slab roller joined by
slipping and scoring pieces together.
34. slip: A mixture of clay and water. It is the glue that adheres to pieces of “plastic”
clay.
35. terra cotta: “baked earth” ( a red, low-fired clay)
36. throwing: Forming clay on a potters wheel.
37. underglaze: colored decoration applied to bisque clay, then coated with a
clear glaze. Typically made of clay slip and raw pigment.
20. wedging: Kneading clay by cutting and reforming it in order to expel air.
Ceramics Vocabulary List
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