Once a pot is built and comes off the wheel it needs to sit and dry until it's leather hard, meaning it's still a little damp, but can be handled without changing its form. At this point, you can trim off any excess clay and carve details into the piece. Pottery at this stage, called greenware, is very fragile and needs to be handled with care.
The next step is to put the piece into the kiln for the first round of firing, called a bisque firing. The purpose of this initial firing is to turn your pottery into ceramic material. The firing process is measured in cones, a standard unit of measurement that accounts for time and temperature. It's important that the temperature rises slowly and cools slowly. Failure to do so could cause the piece to burst, putting you back at square one. Many kilns have programmable cone settings to help prevent this.
After the bisque firing, you want the piece to be strong enough that it doesn't fall apart during glazing, but porous enough to accept the glaze. This allows it to bake without completely drying out. The temperature of a bisque firing typically ranges between 1700 and 1900 degrees Fahrenheit (around 926 to 1038 Celsius). This is the equivalent of 05 to 04 cones. If you went to a craft store where you can paint your own pottery, you'd be decorating the product of a bisque firing, or bisqueware.
Now comes the fun part -- you get to decorate or color your work of art by painting or glazing. Painting is pretty straightforward -- all you need is acrylic paint and your imagination. Glazing is more complex, but we can offer an easy-to-understand overview. Glazes consist of silica, fluxes and aluminum oxide. Silica is the structural material for the glaze and if you heat it high enough it can turn to glass. Its melting temperature is too high for ceramic kilns, so silica is combined with fluxes, substances that prevent oxidation, to lower the melting point. Aluminum oxide is used as a stiffening agent, allowing the glaze to adhere to the surface of a bowl or vase without run off. Glazes get their colors from a wide variety of mineral oxides.
Using glazes requires a lot of experimentation and practice. Many factors, like the kind of kiln or the kind of clay you use, impact the final result. Glazes can be applied with a brush or the entire piece can be carefully dipped into a glaze bath. Glazes often require multiple coats and a lot of patience to get them just right. When that time comes and the piece is dry, you're ready for the glaze firing, where the pottery is heated to maturity. Next, we'll talk about different types of kilns.
FAQs
What is pottery? Pottery is made by combining naturally occurring raw materials, such as clay, earthen minerals, and water and shaping them into forms. Once shaped, the clay body is fired in a kiln at a high temperature to be hardened and heat resistant.
What are the 5 stages of pottery? ›
The Process of Making Pottery
- Step One – Design. ...
- Step Two – Making. ...
- Step Three – Drying. ...
- Step Four – Trimming and Cleaning Up. ...
- Trimming thrown work: ...
- Trimming slip cast work: ...
- Last but not least – check that your name is still clearly on the bottom of your work.
- Step Five – Bisque Firing.
In essence, firing pottery doesn't always have to involve a Pottery Kiln. You can also make use of these innovative methods, such as pit firing or gas firing. And when you want that professional finish without owning a Top Loading Pottery Kiln, your local pottery workshops are there to provide the kiln you will need.
What are the 7 stages of clay in order? ›
The 7 Stages of Clay
- Dry clay.
- Slip.
- Plastic clay.
- Leather hard clay.
- Bone dry clay.
- Bisqueware.
- Glazeware.
- Conclusion.
But how can pottery last so long when so many other artifacts have not lasted the test of time? It's how pottery is made that leads to its longevity, and the key is the fired clay, says the Rogers Archaeology Lab blog. Pottery made from fired clay is incredibly durable, more so than many other conventional materials.
What are the 3 major types of pottery? ›
There are three main types of pottery/ceramic. These are earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
What is the first firing of clay called? ›
BISQUE FIRING is the first firing a clay object must go through. The ceramic works are put in the kiln. The kiln reaches a temperature of about 1945 F. The firing removes all water from the clay and makes it hard and dense.
How long should pottery dry before firing? ›
After you've made your pot from clay it will be ready for its bisque firing once it gets to the bone dry stage (about 1 week after the making of it). Your pot needs to be bone dry to go into the kiln for the first firing to prevent it from exploding!
What is unfired clay called? ›
Greenware: Unfired clay, from wet to bone dry, typically greenware refers to clay which is dry and ready to be bisque fired.
What are the 3 S's in clay? ›
Score, Slip, Stick, Smooth
The four S's are what holds things together. Missing any of these stages will lead to your pieces breaking off and not sticking together.
So, in order to start your pottery hobby journey, you are probably looking at approximately $1,000 - $1,250 including clay.
Why is making pottery so expensive? ›
A: Creating pottery requires a studio to invest in a lot equipment (kiln, electric wheels, tools, glazes, education and a skilled teachers time. Some may think lessons are expensive, while others will think the price of lessons are quite reasonable for what they get in return.
What is the main disadvantage of to pottery? ›
Fragility is the major disadvantage of ceramic materials with very high requirements for transportation and installation. Ceramic works can be easily broken when being collided by hard objects.
What are the 4 S of pottery? ›
Score, Slip, Stick, Smooth
The four S's are what holds things together. Missing any of these stages will lead to your pieces breaking off and not sticking together.
What are the phases of ceramics? ›
The different forms are called phases. The silica phases include alpha-quartz (up to) 1063°F (573°C), beta-quartz (up to) 1598°F (870°C), tridymite (up to) 2678°F (1470°C) and cristobalite, which eventually melts at 3110°F (1710°C) to form amorphous liquid silica.
