Ceramic Vocab

Question 1

Clay

Answer 1

Formed of decomposed granite and organic material

Particles are flat hexagonal sheets that slide together

Question 2

Clay body

Answer 2

Combination of clay materials designed to melt at a desired temperature and to have specific working qualities

Question 3

Earthenware

Answer 3

Low fires clay body

Often brown/red in color and slightly porous

Question 4

Stoneware

Answer 4

Higher firing clay body in which the body becomes vitrified and dense

What we used this semester

Come 06 or 2200F

Question 5

Grog

Answer 5

Ground up fired clay added to clay bodies to reduce shrinkage and add strength

Question 6

Wedging

Answer 6

Kneading the clay body to align the particles

Make homogenous body

Eliminate air pockets

Question 7

Bone dry

Answer 7

Clay that’s lost its surface water and is ready to be fired

Question 8

Leather hard

Answer 8

Clay is stiff enough to hold its shape but wet enough to be joined together

Clay hasn’t changed color

Question 9

Slip

Answer 9

Suspension of clay and water used to alter the color of the surface

Clay slip is also used to cast shapes into molds

Question 10

Sgrafitto

Answer 10

A decorative technique of scratching into the clay body often done through a layer of slip to reveal the clay body underneath

Question 11

Mishima

Answer 11

Inlay technique where a design is cut out of the clay body and filled in with slip

Question 12

Stenciling

Answer 12

A technique of applying slip over a stencil to create a pattern or design

Question 13

Slip trailing

Answer 13

Applying slip through a syringe to create raised areas of decoration

Question 14

Glaze

Answer 14

Finely ground pieces of glass and other chemicals into a liquid suspension, applied to work, and then fired until melted

Question 15

Pyrometric cones

Answer 15

Small pyramids of ceramic materials formulated to bend and melt at designated temp

A cone marked with “0” in front of the number is read as a negative #

010 fires at a lower temp than 08

Question 16

Chemical water

Answer 16

Water that’s chemically combined in the molecular of clay and glazes

At approx. 600C this evaporated and the clay can’t be slaked down into workable clay after this

Question 17

Overglaze

Answer 17

Decoration applied to a raw glazed surface

Mixing stains with oxides with a flux

Applied to a glazed fired piece and decided at low temperatures

Question 18

Oxidation firing

Answer 18

Firing where there is plenty of oxygen, creating a bright surface

Question 19

Reduction firing

Answer 19

A firing in which the kiln is starved of oxygen creating arrange of effects to the clay/glaze

Darker clay body and copper turns to red

Earthier turns

Question 20

Kiln wash

Answer 20

Protective coating applied to the surface of the kiln shelves to prevent excess glazed from fusing the wave to the shelves

Question 21

Dry foot

Answer 21

Springing bottom off before firing