Anna Broome

Clay Terms – Define each

1. Ceramics: Art of making objects out of clay to create sculpture or pottery.

2. Clay: Stiff, slightly sticky earth material used for ceramics. Usually moist, but
dries and hardens when heated.

3. Wedging: Kneading the clay with hands to force out any trapped air pockets and
create a uniform texture.

4. Pinch: Hand building technique when fingers are used to gently pinch the clay to
shape it into the desired form.

5. Coil building: Hand building technique, when hands are used to roll out into rope
shaped lengths of clay. Coils can be any size, but must be consistent with one
another. The coils are wrapped on top of one another to form the sides of pottery.

6. Slab building: Hand building technique using rolling pins to roll out sheets of
clay. These can be cut to form patterns and assemble into forms.

7. Score and Slip: Technique to join the edges by roughening up and “gluing” them
together with liquid clay (slip).

8. Slip: Watered down clay.

9. Kiln: Furnace or oven made of ceramic used to fire/“heat” ceramic objects.

Reaches temperatures of 2,500 degrees.

10.Glaze: Thin, glossy coating fired into pottery or vases.

11.Plastic stage: Stage when clay is workable, pliable clay

12.Leather Hard: Condition of raw clay where it has lost most of its moisture, but it
is still able to be joined or carved.

13.Green Ware: Unfired pottery.

14.Bisque Ware: Clay has been fired once in a kiln.

15.Earthen Ware: (Glaze Ware) Clay has been fired (low) a second time in a kiln.