Learning how to prepare your clay for pottery will make your life as a potter much easier. A few simple steps to get your clay ready can save you hours of frustration going forward. Preparing clay for pottery involves making sure the clay is moist but not too wet and sticky. You also need to…
Lots of things can go wrong when you fire pottery. Glaze can run, plates can warp, and clay can crack. One of the most dramatic and disappointing things that can happen is that pottery can explode in the kiln. It helps to understand what makes clay explode in the kiln to prevent it from happening.…
Two of the most common ways to decorate pottery are glaze and underglaze. These sound similar, but they aren’t the same. So, what is the difference between glaze and underglaze? Glaze and underglaze are both used to decorate pottery. However, the main difference between underglaze and glaze is that underglaze is applied to the pottery…
If you are new to pottery and you have just had your first pieces of pottery fired, you may have noticed that they are quite a bit smaller when they come out of the kiln than when they went in. You may have found yourself wondering why does clay shrink when fired. For several reasons,…
If you are learning about firing pottery, you may have heard the term ‘pottery cone’ or ‘ceramic cone’. But what are cones in pottery and how do they work? Cones are small pieces of ceramic material shaped like tall pyramids. They are placed in a kiln when it fires. Cones bend over as the kiln…
During the process of producing a piece of pottery, the clay goes through different stages, and in one of those stages, the clay is called bisque ware. So, what is bisque in pottery? And why is it important? Bisque pottery has been fired once but has not been glazed. Usually, pottery is fired twice. The…
Whether you are hand building pottery or using a potter’s wheel, clay slip is an essential part of pottery making. But, exactly what is slip in pottery? Here is what you need to know… Slip is liquid clay. It is made by mixing clay with water. Sometimes other ingredients such as colored stains are added…
The words ‘pottery’ and ‘ceramics’ are often used to refer to the same thing. For example, you might say that you are taking a ceramics class. Equally, you could say you’re taking a class in pottery. But, what is the difference between pottery and ceramics? The term ceramics can be used broadly to refer to…