Vocabulary
Bisqueware: fired
pottery that is unglazed
Clay: a natural material of earth that becomes plastic when moistened and hard when fired; its composition is hydrous aluminum, silicates and other minerals
Firing: the transformation of clay into a very hard piece of pottery or
ceramic. It is a heat treatment process of clay for the purpose of securing resistance and permanency of
pieces. The involvement of heat at least 1112 degrees Farenheit (600 degrees C) is required to
make this alteration.
Glaze: a layer of ceramic or glass that is applied by dusting, dipping or brushing a thin slurry on the surface of a pottery or ceramic piece. It is used to seal the piece, decorate it, or both.
Greenware: unfired pottery.
Kiln: an insulated box that is heated in which pottery is fired. The fuels used to heat a kiln are gas, oil, wood, coal (now almost obsolete) and electricity. Each fuel source used to fire a kiln offers different possible outcomes for the pottery fired in them. The maximum operating temperature for most pottery kilns is about 2372 F (1300 C) although many wood fired kilns may be fired up to 2462 F (1350 C).
Throwing: to make pottery by hand on a wheel. A delicate balance as clay is coaxed up and shaped by hand on a spinning turntable.
Wheel: a piece of equipment that a potter uses to spin a mound of
moist clay while he uses his hands to shape a pot.
