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Featured Article Making your own pottery The most basic tool is hands and may also include the potter's wheel, various paddles, shaping tools, slab rollers, and cutting tools. The three basic techniques are: forming; decorating and finishing; and glazing and firing. The production of pottery is a process where wet clay is shaped and allowed to dry. The potter's most basic tool is his or her hands. Other tools include the potter's wheel, various paddles, shaping tools (or ribs), slab rollers, and cutting tools. First is forming which has three basic categories: handwork, wheel work, and slip-casting (mostly for industrial & mass-production). Handwork or handbuilding method construct pieces from hand-rolled coils, slabs, ropes, and balls of clay, often joined with liquid clay slurry. Doing handwork enables the potters to use their imagination to create unique pieces. The process of making ceramic ware on the potter's wheel is called "throwing" or "turning." A ball of clay is placed in the center of a turntable, which is turned chiefly using foot power or a variable speed electric motor. Second is decorative and finishing. Additives such as sand and contrasting colored clays result in interesting patterns. Colorants may be added singly or in combinations to achieve a desired colour. Shredded fiberglass can be used as an additive to improve tensile strength in the finished piece. Finishing or burnishing involves rubbing the surface of the piece with a polished surface to smooth and polish the clay. Finer clays give a smoother and shinier surface than coarser clays. Third is glazing and firing. Glazing is the process of coating the piece with a thin layer of a glassy material especially important for functional earthenware vessels. Most pottery is glazed for waterproofing and decorative effect. In firing, the formed clay may be "bisque fired" in a kiln to harden it, and then fired a second time after adding a glaze. With all glazed items, a small part of the item (usually on the base of the piece) must be left unglazed, else it will stick to the kiln during firing. Copyright © 2005 4 Ceramics. All rights reserved.