Art Teacher Kindergarten – 8th Grade
Optional – Make up vocab test Wednesday November 10, 3:00pm Art Room.
GLOSSARY OF CERAMICS AND CLAY TERMS
COIL- One of the oldest ways of forming pottery. Long strands of clay which are laid on top of each other and joined through blending coil to coil.
CRAZING- The small cracks that occur on glazes after firing
EARTHENWARE- A low fire clay. Porous and not waterproof. To be functional it has to be glazed.
FIRING CLAY is hardened by heating it to a high temperature, fusing the clay particles.
GLAZES- can be colored, opaque, translucent or matte.
Opaque—can’t see through it
Translucent—can see through it
Matte— not shiny/flat
KILN- The furnace in which ceramics are fired.
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 stroking and pinching the clay.
PORCELAIN- A type of clay that is a combination of kaolin, silica and feldspar. A neat thing about porcelain is that it can be worked as clay, but when fired properly it reaches a state similar to glass.
RAKU- Pottery that is fired normally but removed when it is red hot and the glaze is molten. The “shock” of taking the pottery out at that point in the process gives it irregular surfaces and colors.
SLAB—flat pieces of clay cut to shape and joined together. Slabs can be draped over or into forms.
SLIP- liquid clay
SCORE- “roughing up” the clay where it will be joined with another piece
STONEWARE- A high-fire clay. Stoneware is waterproof even without glaze.
