Vocab Quiz #1

Question 1

Amphora

Answer 1

An ancient greek vase from used there for transporting liquids and for prize presentations to the Olympic games winners.

Question 2

Bisque (bisquit)

Answer 2

Unglazed ceramic ware that has been fired at a low temperature to remove all moisture from the clay body and to make handling easier during glazing.

Question 3

Blistering

Answer 3

A pitted, craterlike surface of a glaze caused by gases bursting through the glaze as it is fired, often caused by too-rapid firing or over-firing.

Question 4

Burnishing

Answer 4

Rubbing leather-hard or dry clay with any smooth tool to polish it, tighten the clay surface, and compress the clay particles.

Question 5

Caliper

Answer 5

An instrument used to measure the inside and outside diameter of an object.

Question 6

Celadon

Answer 6

the Western name for a type of glaze first used in China on stoneware and porcelain in an attempt to imitate the color and texture of jade. Its colors, ranging from shades of green to gray-green tones, depending on the percentage of iron it contains. Historically celadon has been fired in a reducing atmosphere, but celadon colors may now be attained in an electric kiln.

Question 7

Centrifugal force

Answer 7

The force that tends to impel an object or material outward from the center of rotation. It acts on the clay while it rotates on a potter’s wheel, and the action of the potter’s hand in conjunction with this force causes the walls to rise.

Question 8

Coiling

Answer 8

A method of forming pottery or sculpture from rolls of clay melded together to create the walls.

Question 9

Crazing

Answer 9

Unintentional cracks that occur over the entire glaze surface because the glaze expands and contracts more than the clay body to which it is applied. Caused by improper “fit” of glaze to clay.

Question 10

Dipping

Answer 10

Applying glaze or slip to the body by immersing the piece and shaking off excess glaze.

Question 11

Earthware

Answer 11

Pottery that has been fired at low temperature (below cone 2) and is porous and relatively soft. Usually red or brown in color. Used worldwide for domestic wear, glazed or unglazed.

Question 12

Engobe

Answer 12

Originally, the term referred to slip that is applied over the entire surface of a piece of pottery or sculpture to change the color and/or texture of the clay body. The term now often refers to slip used for decoration.

Question 13

Extruder

Answer 13

A mechanical aid for forming moist clay by pressing it through a die. This causes the clay to take the shape of the die. Extruders can form clay quickly into many forms, from tubes to tiles to sewer pipes.

Question 14

Fettling knife

Answer 14

A long, tapered knife used for trimming clay, and removing the fettle from a cast.

Question 15

Fit

Answer 15

The adjustment of the glaze composition to the composition of a clay body so that it will adhere to the surface of the wear.