Ceramics 1 Semester 1 Review

Welcome to the interactive Ceramics review.

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Reviewing the information in this slide will help you prepare for our pre-winter break assessment, tentatively scheduled for December 17th.

So far this year you have used many tools to work with clay.

• GUIDE STICKS

• MODELING TOOLS

• NEEDLE TOOLS

• POTTER'S KNIFE

• RIB TOOLS

To make pinch pots.

• RIBBON TOOLS

• ROLLING PINS

To make coils.

• SPONGES

• WIRE TOOLS

To make slabs.

• WAREBOARDS

MOISTURE

in the clay during firing

will cause your art

to break apart in the kiln.

As the clay heats up, the trapped moisture expands and needs somewhere to go. It will push clay out of it's way, blowing up the art. That's why Ms. Land waits at least 2 weeks before she fires something.

Dang it. This isn't Slip.

Danny thought he had slip to join his slabs and coils, but he only had yogurt.

Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain

ABLE TO BE RECYCLED

Greenware

Stages of Clay

Bisqueware & Glazeware

UNABLE TO BE RECYCLED

Greenware's Levels of Dryness

BONE DRY

PLASTIC

LEATHER HARD

not this kind of plastic

not this kind of bone

not this kind of leather

All CLAY bodies contain crystalline silica which can scar your lung tissue and cause irreversible loss of breathing capacity. In GLAZES, silica is the component (ingredient) that makes glass.

When you compress clay particles they become best friends that stick together and don't split up while they're drying. Use a rib tool to compress your clay slabs before you trace out your design.

Uneven drying and Shrinkage will cause cracks.

Can you identify these techniques? Hover over image after you've named it to see if you are correct.

So Random

Damp Box

Dry Foot

Luting

Luting is the process of joining separate unfired clay pieces together using a runny clay mixture (slip) to form a single, larger object

A damp box for clay is a humid, sealed container (usually a plastic bin with a tight lid) that holds a plaster of Paris slab at the bottom, creating a moist environment to keep clay workable for long periods, preventing it from drying out too quickly during construction or transport, ideal for keeping pieces leather-hard for joining or carving.

"dry foot" or "dry footing" means leaving the bottom (foot) of a pottery piece unglazed to prevent it from fusing to the kiln shelf during firing, as fired glaze becomes glass-like and sticky, often removed with a damp sponge or wax resist before firing

glaze

Silica

Flux

Alumina

Pyrometric Cones

There are various methods of firing ceramic pottery, but in schools and most ceramic studios a kiln is used.

Pyrometric cones are small, cone-shaped tools used to measure heatwork, or the combined effect of temperature and time, during the firing of ceramic materials. They are also known as witness cones.

Kiln

Horno

Kiln Cone Chart

When greenware is bone dry it is bisque fired. Clay particles fuse and converts to bisqueware. Once the piece is glazed and glaze fired it is glazeware.

Temperature is measured in CONES, with low firings ranging in Cone 05 (1875°F) to high firings at Cone 14 (2552°F).

Secondary Clay

Alumina

Alumina acts as a crucial stabilizer and stiffener, preventing runny glazes by increasing viscosity, improving durability, hardness, and resistance to chemicals, while also promoting matte textures and opacity; it essentially provides body and structure to the glassy melt, stopping it from flowing off the pot during firing.

Este año hemos usado muchas herramientas para trabajar con arcilla.

• Herramientas esenciales:​
• Rodillos y palos guía​
• Cuchillo de alfarero ​
• Costillas​
• Pasador/h. de agujero​
• Esponjas​
• Tablero de artículos planos​
• Cortadores de alambre​
• Herramientas de modelado​

Greenware

Can be recycled and used again.

Greenware is a term for clay objects that have been shaped but are not yet fired. Greenware can include wet or dry clay that has been hand-built or formed on a wheel.

Puede reciclarse y reutilizarse.

El término "ceramica verde" hace referencia a objetos de arcilla que han sido moldeados pero que aún no han sido cocidos. La cerámica verde puede incluir arcilla húmeda o seca que ha sido hecha a mano o moldeada en un torno.

Primary Clay

Key Characteristics of Porcelain & Primary Clay: Source: Primary clays like kaolin are found near their original rock source, hence their purity. Purity: High purity with fewer impurities than secondary clays. Particle Size: Larger particles, leading to low plasticity (less sticky, harder to shape). Color: Naturally white, essential for porcelain's classic look. Porcelain Composition: A blend, typically including kaolin, feldspar (flux), quartz (grogginess), and sometimes ball clay, to balance purity with workability.

Secondary Clay

Origin: Carried by water from parent rocks (like granite) and deposited elsewhere, gathering other minerals. Impurities: High iron content is common, causing the red color and acting as a flux (lowering melting point). Firing: Fires at low temperatures (Cone 010 to Cone 1), remaining porous. Properties: Very plastic (stretchy) and workable but shrinks significantly, often requiring blending. Uses: Bricks, flower pots, terracotta, and sculpture.

Bisque and Glazeware

Can no longer be recycled and reshaped.

Clay that has been bisque fired or glaze fired can never again be softened and reused into another project as it has undergone a molecular change in the kiln.

Ya no se puede reciclar ni remodelar.

La arcilla que ha sido cocida en bizcocho o esmaltada nunca más se puede ablandar y reutilizar en otro proyecto porque ha sufrido un cambio molecular en el horno.

Flux

A flux is a melting agent (like sodium, lithium, calcium oxides) that lowers the high melting point of silica, allowing glazes to melt into a glassy, waterproof coating at lower kiln temperatures. Fluxes also enhance vitrification (making clay dense), influence color, affect surface texture, and create artistic movement or running effects when combined with other glazes, essentially making things flow, mix, and fuse.

Fluxes are the reason we can fire clay bodies and glazes in common kilns, they make glazes melt and bodies vitrify at lower temperatures.

Silica

Silica (SiO₂) is the fundamental glass-former, creating the hard, glassy, durable surface by forming a strong skeletal structure that melts into a glass at high temperatures, while also controlling expansion to prevent crazing, modifying melt viscosity for flow, and enhancing overall strength and resistance.