CERAMIC

VOCABULARY

THE TERMS SHADED IN GREY ARE VOCUBULARY TERMS THAT WILL APPEAR ON THE FINAL TEST
Contour Line means "outline", and presents exterior edges of objects. A plain contour has a clean, connected line, no shading and emphasizes - an open "shell" of the subject. More complex contours can imply shading values through interior outlines may have line textures. The realistic and natural representation of people, places, and/or things in a work of art. the opposite of naturalism, or the antithesis of forms that replicate or imitate reality. Abstraction moves away from a depiction of realism by taking the essence of realism and applying an idea that focuses the artists selective vision. In other words an artist is looking at an object that exists and manipulating its properties to create a work of their own creation. Artworks having no recognizable subject matter (not recognizable as such things as houses, trees, people, etc.) Also known as non-representational art. The artist is not looking at an object that exists. Shapes that are not regular or even, using a combination of edges that are curved or angular. Organic forms are irregular in outline, and often asymmetrical. Organic forms are most often thought of as naturally occurring. Geometric forms are those which correspond to named regular shapes, such as squares, rectangles, circles, cubes, spheres, cones, and other regular forms. Architecture, is usually composed of geometric forms. These forms are most often thought of as constructed or made. Three dimensional sketch or miniature Repeating same or like elements When the same or like elements shapes, colors, or a regular pattern of any kind are repeated over and over again in a composition, a visual rhythm will result. Like the beat of a drum your eye rises and falls to the elements. The use of repetition and rhythm to unify the different elements of the work creating a consistency. Changes in the composition that sustain the viewers interest. Could be different angle, point of view, color, texture etc. a distinctive and recurring form, shape, figure, etc., in a design, as in a painting or on wallpaper. An arrangement of repeated or corresponding parts, decorative motifs, etc

Realism/Naturalism Abstraction

Non-objective

Organic Form

Geometric Form

maquette Repetition Rhythm

Unity Variety Motif Pattern Bat Bisque Bisque firing

a disc or slab of wood or plaster on which ceramics are formed or dried. fired unglazed ceramic ware. a preliminary firing to harden ware for glazing.

Bisque firing

a preliminary firing to harden ware for glazing. Burnish to polish the surface of leather-hard clay with a smooth rock, wood tool or spoon to give it a shiny finish. Bone dry the state of maximum dryness that ware must reach before it is ready to be fired. Carving to use a sharp clay tool to cut into and remove portions of clay. Ceramics the art and science of forming objects from earth materials containing or combined with silica, and produced with the aid of heat treatment of 1300 degrees or more. Clay a decomposed granite type rock (Al203-2SiO2-6H20).To be classified as clay, the decomposed rock must have very fine particles so it will be plastic when handled. Clay should be free of organic matter (otherwise is dirt), but it will often contain impurities which effect the color and firing temperature. Common types of naturally occurring clays are: ball clay, fire clay, earthenware, terra cotta, kaolin, etc. Clay body a specific recipe of clay, flux, sand, grog, chemicals, and enough water to make the mix workable. Coil building forming by building walls joined with successive ropes or strips of very short clay. Cone see pyrometric cones. Dry foot to clean the bottom of a glazed piece before firing, to prevent it from being fused to the kiln shelf from glaze running off the object. Earthenware a low fire clay (usually less than 2000 degrees F.) red, tan, gray, or white, porous and water absorbent clay. Terra cotta is earthenware. Fire to heat in a furnace until permanently hardened. Earthenware all ware with a permeable or porous body after firing; by definition earthenware has 10-15% absorption. Embossing to create a raised textural pattern to the entire surface of a slab of clay by laying a sheet of textured material against its surface and pressing it into the slab with a rolling pin or slab roller. Engobe- a slip half way between clay and glaze which adheres to the surface of a clay object and forms a bonded-on permanent coating when fired. Will be matt to slightly satiny. May be tinted with ceramic additives Feldspar mineral found in granite which melts around 2300 degrees used as a flux in clay bodies and glazes. Flux - the lowest melting ingredient in a ceramic compound, acting as a catalyst, it helps the other ingredients to melt. It is a main ingredient in both clay and glaze (plus clay and glass or silica). Foot, belly, shoulder, the names for the parts of a pot. neck, lip Glaze a liquid suspension of powdered minerals applied to clay, then fired until the ingredients melt together to form an impervious coating, which may be matte semi-mat, satin or glossy.

Glaze firing Green ware Grog Impressing Incise Intaglio Inlay Leather hard Maturity

Metallic oxides Neutral atmosphere Off the hump Overglaze Oxidation firing Piercing Plasticity

Press mold Porcelain Pyrometric cones or Cones Refractory material Raku Reduction firing

to fire until work has reached the maturation point of the clay and glaze. ceramic ware that is raw and unfired, may be dry. crushed or ground fired clay used to reduce shrinkage, add texture, body, and to aid even drying and firing. to press a design into the surface of soft clay using a stamp, textured object or end of a tool. to use a sharp tool to scratch a design into the surface of plain clay. to carve deeply to form a recessed design (the opposite of relief). To carve into leatherhard clay, fill the carved area with slip until it is flush with the surface then scrape off excess slip leaving behind a line of color. slightly moist clay; firm enough to carve, burnish, or construct forms from. The point in the firing process where a ceramic object or compound reaches the maximum desired hardness and non-porosity, and the component ingredients are fully fused, i.e. the glass forming ingredients have melted. (non: maturation point) a metallic element chemically combined with oxygen, used in ceramic compounds for coloring an atmosphere in a kiln which is neither oxidizing or completely reducing. method of throwing forms on a wheel consecutively from one large lump of clay. Enamel, china paint or luster that is put on after the glaze firing and then fired at a lower temperature. firing work in a kiln allowing more oxygen than necessary for normal burning of fuel. to cut through or cut out sections of the wall of a form by using a knife, punch or needle tool or pointed object. the workability and pliability of a clay or clay body. Porcelain- a pure high fire, non-absorbent clay; usually white to gray in color, may be translucent. Often not plastic, and therefore hard to manipulate. a mold made from plaster that into which soft clay is pressed then removed to produce a raised or high relief form. a mechanically strong, hard frequently translucent, fired clay with 0% absorption, the strongest of all clay bodies unless very thin. small triangular cones made of ceramic material formulated to melt at specific temperatures used to tell when a desired firing temperature has been reached. - ceramic materials which melt at very high temperatures. When added to clay or glazes, the maturation point of the compound is increased. a firing process in which bisqued pieces are fired to cone 06-05 then removed from the kiln and smoked in combustible materials. a firing process in which the fire in the kiln is not allowed enough oxygen causing a reduced supply of oxygen. The result is that the flame must steal oxygen from the clay forms being

Reduction firing

Rib Ribbing Sagger Score Sgraffito Slab construction Slake Slip Silica Sprigging or sprig molds Stamping Stoneware Temper

Throw (on the wheel)- Under-glaze Vitreous Wedge

a firing process in which the fire in the kiln is not allowed enough oxygen causing a reduced supply of oxygen. The result is that the flame must steal oxygen from the clay forms being fired which alters the chemical composition and appearance of the pieces. a curved tool of wood, metal, or plastic used for shaping, scraping, and smoothing the surface of ceramic objects. using a rib to smooth the surface of a clay form. a fire proof container with a lid used to enclose ceramics forms while firing to protect them from the kiln atmosphere or to create a special confined atmosphere just for that form. to roughly scratch and open the surface of a wet clay object for the application of slip and attachment of additions of other wet clay pieces. to use a sharp object to scratch a design through a layer of slip of contrasting color applied over a clay surface. constructing clay objects from slabs of clay which have been rolled, thrown on the wheel, cut, or pressed. To soak dry clay in water until the clay is fully wetted. a liquid suspension of clay. There are two different kinds: slip for joining pieces of clay and colored slip for painting on clay. oxide of silicon, SiO2, found abundantly in nature as quartz, sand and flint. The most essential oxide in ceramics, the glass-forming oxide. using clay forms produced in a plaster press-mold for an appliqu decoration. to apply relief texture to the surface of clay by pressing with an object. a high fire clay with almost no absorbency, white, buff, tan tawny, or brown in color. Also refers to the temperature range which stoneware if fired to. an addition to clay bodies, such as sand or grog or natural fiber, which improves workability of wet clay. In fired clay, it lends resistance to cracking when exposed to sudden temperature changes during and after firing. to make pots on a potters wheel. a formulated color pigment mixture designed to be used under a glaze coating. refers to the hard, glassy, non absorbent quality of fired clay or glaze due to the melting of glass forming raw ingredients during the firing process. (verb- to vitrify). working the clay with the hands to achieve a uniform consistency kneeding