Pottery Terms

This is the natural decomposition of granite and igneous rock which when heated to high temperatures becomes permanent.

• dough

• clay

• dirt

• brick

When the texture of clay is soft, pliable and easy to work with.

• leather hard

• slip

• plastic

• bone dry

When clay is in this stage it has dried out enough to be handled with less risk of damage and it is the consistency of thick leather.

• plastic

• bone dry

• leather hard

• slip

This is any clay that has not been fired and it is extremely fragile in this state.

• bone dry

• green ware

• glaze ware

• bisque ware

This is the stage when the clay has been so saturated with water that it becomes like a thick mud. It is used to glue or bond two pieces of clay together when they have been scored.

• grog

• yogurt

• slip

• glaze

This is the stage when your clay is COMPLETELY dried out and is ready to be bisque fired.

• leather hard

• bone dry

• dry foot

• green ware

This is the first low temperature firing which give pottery a certain durability and leaves it porous enough to accept glaze.

• green ware fire

• bisque fire

• glaze fire

• bone dry fire

This is when you scratch the surface of the clay where another piece of clay is being added. If this is not done along with slipping then the 2 pieces of clay will not stick together.

• scoring

• slipping

• grooving

• planting

This is the process of forcing any air bubbles from the clay in order to obtain a uniform texture.

• warping

• weaving

• wedging

• kneading

This is a general term applied to any ceramic in the green, bisque, or glazed state.

• worth

• ware

• web

• wish