What is Ceramics? Pottery is made by shaping clay into specific objects and introducing them into a kiln which would bring them into a process of extreme heat in order to give the clay a better aspect such as being harder, and an enhanced shape.

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        What is pottery? It is one of the oldest forms of ceramics used in the world today which still remains a big industry. Pottery is made by shaping clay into specific objects and introducing them into a kiln which would bring them into a process of extreme heat in order to give the clay a better aspect such as being harder, and an enhanced shape. The way the clay is mixed differs in many ways. Sometimes people mix the clay with other minerals in order to give it specific aspects.

        Before even starting the shaping process the air trapped within the clay has to be removed because if the air is trapped, the finishing project will be likely to explode when placed in the kiln. In order to remove the trapped air in the clay, people use the process of wedging when done manually or put into a machine called a vacuum pug. Wedging can help one ensure the amount of moisture in the clay shape. After wedging, the clay can be shaped and then dried before being put to the kiln.

        The main method of shaping used for pottery are the hands but many other methods have developed with time in order to facilitate the process and having more precision in shaping. There are various types of methods for shaping such as the hand building, jiggering and jolleying, the roller head machine, the RAM pressing including the granulate pressing, and last but not least, slip casting.

        The method mostly used is hand building which is also called handwork. It is in fact the earliest and the most individualized method for shaping and forming. Some use hands by using coils of clay, flat slabs of clay, or from balls of clay. Others use all three methods for shaping by hand. Hand building includes the use of wheeling as well with a runny mixture of clay and water which softens the clay and makes it easier for the potter to shape the piece of pottery. People argue on the fact that hand building is the longest process but studio potters state that although it takes a longer time to accomplish the final product is more imaginative and creatively unique. On the other hand, some are more comfortable with the method of wheeling than using just the hands.

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        The potter’s wheel is a process in which a ball of clay is placed in the center of a turntable, called the wheel head, which the potter rotates either with a stick, with foot power or with a variable speed electric motor. During that specific process, the wheel rotates rapidly while the solid ball of clay is squeezed, pressed and pulled upwards and downwards into a concave shape. From around the seventh century B.C, the potter’s wheel was the most effective method of mass producing pottery, even though it is mostly used for individual pieces. Wheeling requires the potter to ...

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