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Common red clay and shale clay have vegetable and ferric oxide impurities which make them useful for bricks, but are generally unsatisfactory for pottery except under special conditions of a particular deposit. [18] Bentonite: An extremely plastic clay which can be added in small quantities to short clay to increase the plasticity.
It was important that these not be too big or sharp, "excessively large temper can make the walls of pottery vessels unstable, since the clay will not be able to mesh together properly. Sharp particles, like stones, could hurt the potter when kneading the clay and forming the vessels and prevent the creation of a smooth surface."
To do this, the potter takes a clay body then rolls it until it forms a coil, or long pliable cylinder. By placing one coil on top of another, different shapes can be formed. As this is done while the clay is still fresh and soft, individual coils can be joined seamlessly with simple pressure, rather than by scoring and/or applying slip to the ...
In coiling, the clay is rolled into a long, thin strands that are coiled upon each other to build up the shape of the pottery. While the potter builds the coils up, she also blends them together until there was no trace of the ropes of clay entwined to form the pot, no deviation in the thickness of the walls, and therefore no weaknesses.
The few ways that clay pottery can be damaged is by being broken, being abraded or by coming in contact with fire. [13] The process of making a pot and firing it is fairly simple. The first thing a potter needs is clay. Attica's high-iron clay gave its pots an orange color. [14]
The clay particles tend to measure just a few micrometres in size and in plate-like form. Large amounts of water can be tightly held in the interspace between the clay particles. Add to this the organic ooze, and one has what is known colloquially as "gumbo" clay. [11] A potter smooths the inside of a vessel
A major component of the chemical composition of clays, clay bodies and most glazes. Ark Large tank for the storage of slip. To prevent sedimentation is gentle agitated by slowly rotating blades. Atmosphere The gaseous environment within the kiln during the firing process. Can be oxidising (an excess of oxygen) or reducing (a deficiency of oxygen).
This pottery is handmade, and potters dig clay locally to produce their wares. Tempering agents like sand, volcanic ash, or pieces of ground-up broken pottery are combined with the clay to harden it during the firing process. The vessels are then pit-fired in the ground. Wood, dung, coal, or other locally sourced materials are used as fuel. [7] [8]