1. Ceramics
Creating Pinch Pots

2. Clay
 Made from earth, water
and fire.
 Clay is different from
mud, since it has
plasticity. This gives it
the ability to hold
together while its being
shaped.

3. Basic Terms
 Ceramics – Clay objects that permanently
retain their shape after they have been
heated to specific temperatures.
 Pottery – Functional Ware, such as
vases, pots, bowls or plates,
shaped from moist clay and hardened by
heat.

4. Basic Terms cont.
 Wedge – A way of improving the
workability of clay by reforming the
mixture to make it homogeneous and
even in texture while
eliminating air bubbles.

5. Basic Terms cont.
 Kiln – A structure built to fire clay at
high temperatures.

6.  Fire – Heating pottery or clay sculpture
to a temperature high enough to render
it hard and durable.
Basic Terms cont.

7. Construction
 Hand built Methods
 Pinch method: Technique that involves
squeezing the clay, usually between thumb
and fingers.

8. Construction
 Coil method: Attaching rolls of
clay together to form pottery.

9. Construction
 Slab method: Technique that involves
shaping clay into a broad, flat, thick piece.

10. Clay Stages
 Greenware – Unfired pottery
or sculpture.
 Leatherhard – The stage
between plastic and bone dry
when clay is dried, but may still
be carved or joined to other
pieces.
 Bone dry – Stage of drying
when moisture in the clay body
has evaporated so the clay
surface no longer feels cold.

11. Clay Stages cont.
 Bisqueware – Ceramic ware
that has gone through the first
firing at a relatively low
temperature and still
maintains its porous state.
 Glazeware – Ceramic ware
that has been fired at a high
temperature with glaze, which
forms a coating of glass onto
the surface.

12. Tools
 Fettling knife – A long tapered knife
used for cutting and trimming clay.
 Loop tool – A small loop with a handle
used to carve clay away.

13. Joining Techniques
 Score – Scratching the edges of clay
before joining them together.
 Slip – A fluid suspension of clay in
water used in joining clay pieces and for
surface decoration.
 Bond – A mix made from clay slip of
the same type of clay as the clay piece.

14. Lidded Vessels